Emotion
by forgivance
Summary: He used to be an emotionless asshole, and she hated him. But as the mission progressed, and he spent more and more time with her, he began to feel. To live. To love. SakuSai
1. In Which the Mission is Assigned

**Warning:** This fanfiction will eventually describe mature content in graphic detail. You have been warned.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters Kishimoto has so imaginatively created. Unfortunately.

NOTICE: I have re-done the ending for this chapter, so anyone who read it previously, please note changes before the next update.

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"Sakura…"

Sakura hadn't liked him then. And she certainly didn't like him now. He was an infuriating jerk whose countenance was perpetually adorned by a smile so fake she felt she could puke upon viewing it. And he was always dressed in that black jacket thing that was far too short for appropriate male attire, leaving his pale midriff open for everyone to view.

But that was not all, oh no, it definitely wasn't. It was his general personality, his innate self, that emotionless attitude which he always radiated. Yes, that was it: that indifferent demeanor in which he treated her with was the never-failing source of her irritation.

Or perhaps it was just the fact that the first time they had met, he had called her an ugly bitch, and then smiled after the completely unnecessary comment. At least that time, she had been able to respond by decking him in the face and sending him soaring some thirty feet through the air before he crashed into a large nearby tree.

"Haruno Sakura!"

Uh oh. _That_ didn't bode well. Sensei was screaming: she had better pay attention before she found _herself_ flying unceremoniously through the concrete walls of the Hokage's office.

"Yes?" she replied meekly.

"Pay attention!" was the terse response.

Sakura allowed herself an inaudible sigh, glancing over at the individual who had elicited her brief daydream. Damn, the little jerk was still smiling that nauseatingly repulsive smile. She wished she could sock him.

"Alright" began Tsunade, "I have a tricky mission for you two. Here." She tossed the mission scroll to Sakura, who caught it and rolled it open to read. Sai watched impassively as the pink-haired jounin scanned the scroll, which, judging by the golden specks which shimmered as she held it up to the light, was manufactured with paper of considerable expense.

"A precious heirloom of the Fukazawa family was stolen from our client. Our target is a man named Michio, an S-ranked missing nin from the Hidden Village of Rain, whom Mr. Fukuzawa claims stole the pendant from his residence last week. You may have heard of him before" stated the Hokage.

"Michio…" Sakura turned the name over in her head a few times. It did seem a bit familiar. Where had she heard it before?

"He's a man who slaughtered an entire convoy of shinobi from his own village in order to obtain a considerable sum of money from the Land of Water. A traitor and mass murderer who is on the top of countless bingo books" described Sai matter-of-factly.

Sakura gaped at him.

"Precisely" Tsunade nodded slightly in approval, "Very impressive, Sai. And seeing as you know so much, I'm sure I do not need to remind you not to engage him in any way. He is classified as an S-class criminal for a reason. Do you know the ranks and number of people he massacred in that group as well?"

"The party he slaughtered was comprised of four jounin and six chuunin, all killed without a struggle" responded the pale jounin, without missing a beat.

"Exactly. Needless to say, he is a dangerous man"

She sighed.

"I would have liked to send more people, but frankly, at the moment, you two are the only ninja available with the expertise and experience necessary for this task"

"We can handle this, Tsunade-shishou, don't worry" Sakura assured.

"I know. I'm counting on you two, Sakura, Sai. Go, discuss your plans. I want to see both of you in my office, unscathed, in seven days' time"

At this, Sakura glanced over at her mission partner once more, who gave her a slight smile as their gazes met. Sakura wanted to hurl him out the window.

"Yes, Hokage-sama" they replied in unison.

As the door to the Hokage's office shut, Sakura turned tersely to confront Sai. Unfailingly, he met her gaze with a small smile. Damn it, all she wanted to do was wipe that annoying grin off his face with a well-placed punch. Discussing plans with this maddening freak was the last thing Sakura wished to do. Willing away her now-conspicuous glare proved harder than she had imagined. Sai appeared not to notice her predicament.

"Alright Sai," she said with forced calm, "How bout we walk over to the ramen parlor right now and discuss what to do over some food?"

"Okay" he responded expressionlessly, and then accompanied his reply with another phony smile.

Sakura could feel her valiantly-attained calm threatening to leave her. If this kept up, insanity would be a looming prospect.

The walk to Ichikaru was incredibly tense, at least on Sakura's part. Sai, as far as she could see, remained blissfully oblivious to the uptight manner she had adapted as she walked alongside him. Well, that was reassuring. Perhaps he'd forgiven her for slugging him in the face. If that was the case, and she could somehow miraculously learn to cope with his exasperatingly malicious personality, she might actually be able to complete this mission without losing her mind.

"You know," Sai said, interrupting her wishful contemplation, "I think I still have some slight bruises from that time you punched me in the face a few weeks ago…"

Darn. He hadn't forgotten. Time for an attempt to redeem her previous actions.

"Well, Sai" responded Sakura defensively, "You _did_ call me an ugly bitch, I'm afraid I don't deal so well with unreasonably mean comments"

Sai smiled sweetly. If Sakura's self-control was a balloon, she had just accidentally let go of the string.

"Well, you-"

She cut him off by grabbing him and shoving him against the wooden fence, which creaked in protest to the sudden force pushing against it.

"Okay, listen, Sai" she said angrily as she gripped his shoulders with her straining fingers, "Don't get fresh with me. If I see you smile so falsely at such inappropriate moments _one more time_ I'm going to leave a lot more than bruises on you, got it?" She clenched her fist in front of his face for added effect.

"Why?" he asked, and for the first time since she had spoken to him (which, she realized, couldn't have totaled up to more than ten minutes), she detected the teeniest twinge of confusion in his voice, and then immediately it was gone.

"A smile is the best way to make good first impressions" he continued matter-of-factly, "I read it in a book"

Sakura fixed him with an incredulous stare. Really? Was this boy serious? Who read about smiles in books? He was a nutcase, that was for sure. All thoughts of maintaining her saneness fled.

"I can't believe this!" she screamed, "No one reads about smiles in books! Are you even _human_?"

All he did was give her an utterly bored stare. Wonderful. Now she was so angry she couldn't even speak anymore.

"I was trained to have no emotions," he said plainly, "I don't know what feelings are; I can't feel them. All I can do is read my books and hope to get my portrayal of them right"

Wow.

She hadn't expected that coming.

So maybe it _wasn't_ his fault that he had an one hundred percent I-don't-care attitude. All of her past irritation with the boy drained away as she realized. Well, maybe not all, since she still couldn't completely forgive him for the bitch comment, but for the most part she could understand a little more of where he was coming from.

"I'm sorry, Sai" she told him quietly, "I didn't know. I…I guess I assumed the worst of you"

She gave him an apologetic smile, and released her deathly grip on his shoulders. Upon viewing her grin, the corners of Sai's mouth reflexively lifted, only to stop himself in alarm, apparently fearing the decidely frightening wrath of the pink-haired kunoichi. Sakura chuckled at his panicked reaction.

"That's okay, Sai, for now, you can continue to do that fake smile of yours"

He smiled.

"Okay, freaky" he said cheerily.

Damn. Way to kill the mood. Thank god they hadn't gotten to the ramen restaurant yet or his face would be submerged in a steaming bowl of slimy noodles right now. Sakura sighed miserably. It would definitely take quite some time before she could tolerate him. Hopefully, she would learn before suffering from a massive heart attack.

"Screw you, Sai, let's eat" she said grumpily. Grabbing his pale hand, she dragged him towards Ichikaru.

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R&R please, thank you.


	2. In Which the Preparations are Made

**Warning:** This fanfiction will eventually describe mature content in graphic detail. You have been warned.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters Kishimoto has so imaginatively created. Unfortunately.

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Yum. Sakura smacked her lips audibly in an unladylike fashion as she placed the empty bowl onto the table. She had to admit, ramen was delicious. And not only that, on top of the tasty meal, Sai had remained surprisingly polite and cooperative throughout the entire lunch, and they had made good progress on their plans for the upcoming task.

She glanced over at her mission partner. Sakura had to admit, the boy fascinated her in a way no other individual ever had. Every ninja knew shinobi saying #25, which stated 'a shinobi never shows his or her feelings, no matter what the circumstances', but never had the pink-haired jounin encountered an individual who literally didn't possess _any_ emotions, not even when it came to simple things like care, fear, or anything of the like.

He was…the mere shell of a human being, devoid of the core, of the heart, that distinguished each person from another. Yet, his personality was so flawlessly indifferent, so perfectly unconcerned, that it set him aside from everyone she had met.

"Why are you staring at me?"

Sai's dry voice abruptly returned her to the present. She hadn't even noticed that she had been; her eyes had just naturally rested on his face as she mused over his personality.

"Oh. Um…" Still rather out of it, Sakura had trouble formulating a quick response.

"It's because you're attracted to me, right?"

Sakura blinked. Had he just suggested what she thought he had suggested? Uh oh, bad choice of words there.

"Ex_cuse_ me?" she asked incredulously.

"When a girl is attracted to a boy, she tends to look at him often. It's a sign of infatuation. I read it in a book" he informed her.

The nerve of that boy. She wanted to slap him really hard across the face. But, of course, it wasn't his fault that he didn't know anything about love.

"Idiot!" she seethed, "I was staring at you because you're such a freak, not because I'm in love with you"

"Oh" was the nonchalant response.

Lovely. Here she was, arguing in a ramen parlor with a boy who possessed the emotional temperament more or less equal to that of a rock. Judging by the look on the restaurant owner's face, he wasn't too happy about the disruptive atmosphere she was creating either. Her gaze traveled to the empty ramen bowl sitting on the counter in front of the pale jounin. Ah, so he was finally done with his food.

"Well, we should pay then" she suggested, reaching for her purse.

"That's okay" Sai's face was all smiles, "I already paid for you. I read in a book that girls think it shows thoughtfulness"

Wow. Sakura didn't want to know which egocentric woman wrote _that_ piece of advice, but was nonetheless grateful that he acted on her counsel. In all honesty, the pink-haired kunoichi's wallet had been lacking considerably as of late. Needless to say, she needed this mission as much as it needed her.

"Thanks Sai" she told him, "I really appreciate it"

"You're welcome"

"Okay. How 'bout we go back to our houses and get ready for our trip. The Hidden Village of Rain is roughly a day from Konoha by foot, so it's best if we leave as soon as we can"

He nodded his agreement.

"Okay"

The pale jounin raised two fingers to his chest.

"Bye" he said curtly, and with a swirl of ink he was gone.

"Bye" echoed Sakura. She gazed unconsciously at the spot where he had just been for a moment, then turned and headed for home to pack.

As the pink-haired jounin walked alone through the streets of Konoha, a wave of something she couldn't quite put her finger on washed over her. With sudden amazement, she realized that she was feeling something she hadn't felt in quite awhile: loneliness.

Sure, she had endured her share of solitude over the years, first through Sasuke's betrayal so many years ago, and then through Naruto's recent discovery of his feelings for Hinata. But, she had always persevered, had always gradually managed to adapt to her loss of companions; truthfully, she had almost forgotten the feel of having one person to talk to, having one person to walk around with for however long.

So, after spending just a few minutes with this strange boy, who ordinarily would have been the last person she'd want to talk to, Sakura found herself longing for his presence. He had evoked a series of powerful memories by unknowingly assuming a position in her life that had too long been vacant. Despite his infuriating personality, he had filled a void in her heart simply by spending some time with her, and for that, Sakura made her decision. She would go out of her way to understand him better, to get to know him better, and maybe by the end of her efforts, Sai would become a friend. Or better yet, maybe even a close friend.

Lost in her thoughts, the pink-haired kunoichi barely noticed when she arrived at the plain apartment which she had made her residence.

Turning the key quickly and opening the door, Sakura took time to glance around at her simple dwelling. They say one can tell a person's personality simply by looking at that person's room. Her room definitely exemplified that principle. It was tidy, but not to the point of emptiness. Pink blossoms were placed strategically in various corners where it lacked furniture. The bed was made, but obviously in a half-hearted manner. All in all, the entire place depicted her as a girl who cared about her appearance, but not overly so. And that was exactly the girl she was.

But enough about herself. She knew what she needed to do in the limited time before leaving on her mission. Sakura grabbed an accessory pouch and threw in a couple of sharpened kunai. After a brief search, energy bars joined the pointy throwing knives.

_Good,_ she thought to herself. That would be all the supplies she would need for a brief seven day mission.

The last thing left on her list was a nice, warm shower. Missions were always unpredictable: sometimes she stayed in hot spring resorts, other times she slept on forest floors with nothing but her clothes to keep her warm. She might not have a chance to take a shower in the next seven days, so she had to get one in before then.

She headed for the bathtub, throwing off her gloves and hair band as she did so. Once in the safety of her closed bathroom, she proceeded to remove her other, more sensitive articles of clothing. A quick pull of a zipper and her tight red vest came off. Another tug freed her of her spandex shorts. Bra and panties were thrown unceremoniously over the shower curtain as she stepped into the tub. With a simple turn of the handle, warm water would spray out of the nozzle and fall like heavenly rain on her limbs, washing away the sores and aches of her day and leaving her a replenished young woman.

Unfortunately, she didn't have the luxury to enjoy such pleasure.

The harsh buzz of her doorbell interrupted her blissful anticipation. Some inconsiderate bastard had chosen the worst time possible to ring her door buzzer. With a sigh of annoyance, Sakura stepped back out of the tub and hastily threw her clothes back on. Whoever was at her door had better be ready to suffer.

Sakura stomped out of the restroom, and angrily pulled her front door open.

"What do you want?" she demanded furiously, fist poised to strike the foolish soul who had disrupted her shower.

Then she blinked.

Sai stood in front of her, face blank, expressionless, as usual.

Oops.

In the midst of her fantasy for a shower, she had forgotten about the urgency of the mission.

Then she noticed that the pale jounin was not looking at her face. He was looking at her chest.

She was surprised that the glare she shot him didn't cause him to combust in a burst of spontaneous flames.

"Stop looking there, you pervert!" she shrieked, covering her breasts with her arms.

His eyes traveled leisurely back up to her face.

"Sakura…" he began.

Humph. She stuck her nose in the air and turned away. He wanted forgiveness? Not so easily. Stupid boys and their incessant peeking.

"…you're wearing your shirt backwards"

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Sorry for the abrupt ending :D. Thanks for the reviews and favorites, people. I really appreciate them! -forgivance


	3. In Which the Journey is Begun

**Warning:** This fanfiction will eventually describe mature content in graphic detail. You have been warned.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters Kishimoto has so imaginatively created. Unfortunately.

* * *

It took awhile for Sakura to right the direction of her clothes and get over the embarrassment of her dressing faux pas, but when she finally managed, it was decided that she would forgo her shower for the sake of reaching the Hidden Village of Rain by noon the next day.

After ensuring the mission scroll was safely in Sai's pack and double-checking that she had all she would need, Sakura was ready to go.

"We need to get into the Hidden Village of Rain, interrogate people to find out where Michio resides, invade his house when he's not in it, steal the pendant, and return to Konoha" Sai reminded the pink-haired ninja.

"I know"

He gave her a small smile.

"Then let's go"

The afternoon sun was lenient on the pair as they headed west to their destination. Still, despite the favorable weather and only having run for a mere two hours or so, Sakura could feel her limbs beginning to protest beneath her.

She snuck a glance at the pale ninja half a stride in front of her; frankly, Sai's speed and stamina were amazing, even for a jounin. Though she had yet to see him in action, the pink-haired kunoichi could easily tell that his shinobi training was at a proficient level. And not only that, but with his light skin slightly flushed with the heat and his short hair tousled by the wind, Sakura realized that Sai was in fact, quite attractive. It was funny that she had never realized it before. Perhaps his initial attitude had blinded her of his physical attributes.

"You're staring at me again" he informed her dryly.

Sakura turned red. How had he known? He wasn't even looking at her.

"Idiot! I can't follow you with my eyes closed" she defended hotly.

"But you can without staring at my face while you run" he returned coolly.

Damn, he was right, and she knew it. Time to change the subject.

"Sai, how old are you?"

She prayed he wouldn't press his previous topic.

"Seventeen"

Whoa. They were the same age. Sakura chuckled lightly.

"Me too" she told him.

"Oh"

Apparently, that piece of information mattered little to her impassive mission partner. Still, to her, it was good to know. Besides, hadn't she promised herself to get to know the pale jounin better? What better way was there than to make small talk as they headed towards their destination? In any case, Sakura hated awkward silences, so having a conversation with this boy was a good way to ease her edginess around him.

"So, how come I didn't see you earlier?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I didn't see you around Konoha until recently, and I thought I knew everyone my age in the village" she explained.

"Oh. Well, I was in the Root division of ANBU"

"Root?"

Sakura had never heard the name before.

"Yea. It's a special sect of ninja that are trained to epitomize the shinobi ideals" he informed her.

"Wow" she marveled, "That's intense"

No wonder. That was why he was trained to have no emotions. She had no doubt that ANBU Root enforced harsh measures on its members in order to achieve its principles; there was no other way the primal instincts of a human being could be so perfectly annihilated.

"Yea" Sai agreed.

Conversation paused briefly as they caught sight of an enormous forest. Sakura recognized it immediately, though the specific name eluded her.

This endless mass of trees spanned a course of over forty miles, and extended across the corner of the Land of Fire into the small territory which contained the Hidden Village of Rain. Since attaining the chuunin rank, the pink-haired kunoichi had traveled through sections of it on several occasions, but had only covered a small portion of it throughout the entirety of her missions.

"Sai, I've been here before. Let's take the right opening, it's the fastest to our target" she told him.

The pale jounin nodded. Picking a spot, he leapt onto a large branch protruding out of the massive tree in front of them and shot off into the woods; Sakura followed hot on his heels.

After she synchronized her jumps with Sai, their conversation resumed where it left off. The pink-haired jounin still had countless things she wanted to know about her mission partner, and they had numerous hours for talk before they arrived at their destination.

"So, how come Root let you show up in the middle of Konoha all of a sudden?" Sakura asked.

The pale jounin seemed to hesitate for a second.

"They didn't. I was free to roam around the village after they kicked me out" he explained tonelessly.

Sakura started.

"You were kicked out?"

Sai smiled slightly.

"Yea"

He was dimly aware that, besides the Godaime, he had never revealed anything of his past to anyone. Root had focused on minimal talking, minimal human relations, in order to complete its missions with maximum efficiency. Thus, he had grown accustomed to talking only when absolutely essential. The pale jounin had never spoken this many words at one time, and why his voice flowed so persistently out of his mouth all of a sudden was an enigma he had yet to comprehend.

There was something about Sakura which he simply couldn't place. Something that opened the pent-up confines of areas long forbidden in his mind, releasing things he had never experienced. He wished he knew why.

"How come?" asked Sakura, her curious voice cutting through Sai's thoughts.

After a short pause,

"It's a shameful reason" he informed her quietly.

Sai could sense her eyes fixed on his face.

"Oh" was her dejected reaction.

Sakura could tell that her mission partner did not wish to share this particular bit of information. She tried to read his face, to catch a glimpse of his thoughts, but his expression remained as impassive as ever. She was just about to raise another topic, when Sai began to speak.

"I had a collection of paintings that I painted in a book and kept hidden away" he said, "Two weeks ago, my squad captain found it in my apartment, and told me to dispose of it. I refused, so I was dropped from the organization"

Sakura gaped at him. This story was so unbelievably ridiculous that she found herself having difficulty believing it.

"Why did he want you to throw it away, was there something wrong with it?" she asked, her voice laced with incredulity.

"He said I was attached to it" he told her with a smile, "I suppose he was right"

"But that's insane! So what if you were attached to your hard work, you should be! There's nothing wrong wi-"

He stopped her outburst with a glacial stare.

"Attachments get in the way" he stated with conviction, "They hinder one's ability to complete his or her mission successfully. By developing an attachment, I had shown that I was not worthy of being a member of Root. My participation was rightly cut off. I was a disgrace"

"Don't say that!" she exclaimed, the forcefulness of her voice throwing Sai off.

"Attachments are what make us human! You aren't a disgrace for having one. Your ANBU Root members, for distancing themselves from what makes us who we are, are the disgraces! They're nothing but killing machines with nothing in their lives but orders. Haven't you ever wondered what feelings are?"

She glanced expectantly at Sai, but he did not respond. His silence made her fidgety. Had she gone too far? She simply could not imagine how he could've lived his life all this time with such absolute emptiness, and she had to say so. Had he never wondered what lay beyond his world? That following orders weren't the sole purpose of his existence? His beliefs were too cruel to endure. She had to set him right, had to make him know the passions of life that those commanders of his had torn away from him.

"I do not know what feelings are, except that they are irrelevant and unnecessary" he answered finally.

Her face fell.

"But yes, I've wondered" he finished, "And I've been wondering a lot more since I met you"

Sakura swore she could feel her heart rising out of her chest. She didn't know why, but for some reason, those words, that simple sentence from a boy she had just gotten to know for the past two days, meant so immeasurably much to her. She felt like she had just received a confession of love from the man she had hoped to marry for forever. Naturally, this was a purely rhetorical scenario.

"Thank you, Sai" was the only response she could manage, "That means a lot to me"

He fixed her with a small smile.

"You're welcome"

After that, the two were once again silent as they maneuvered through the forest towards the Hidden Village of Rain. Yet, for once, Sakura did not feel uncomfortable. It was as if, after his profession, a barrier between them had collapsed, and the pink-haired kunoichi discovered to her immense pleasure that the silence which normally felt awkward suddenly became comfortable.

As the sun sank until it was but a mere sliver of brightness upon the horizon and the moon rose to oversee the night, the forest began to come alive with the movements and calls of its nocturnal inhabitants.

Yet despite the absence of light and the obviously late hour, Sai did not express the slightest intention of stopping to rest for the night. Sakura would know; she had been staring hopefully at his body movements for several hours now, but they were unfailing in their consistency.

She, however, did not enjoy such luxury. They had not taken a break since they left Konoha, and her legs were aching in complaint beneath her. How long had they been running? She made a quick mental calculation: if they had left at noon and it was roughly nine pm, they had been moving for nine hours straight. Frankly, that was longer than she had ever run in her entire life. No wonder she was exhausted.

All of a sudden, as if in answer to her prayers, Sai stopped. The abrupt termination of movement was nearly too much for her fatigued limbs, and they shook violently as she alighted unsteadily on the branch beside him.

"Sakura"

"Yea?"

"Let's rest here for the night" he suggested, "You look tired"

"Okay" she said gratefully, "Thanks Sai"

There was a god after all. Sakura nearly collapsed on the tree branch as she lay down to sleep. Below her wearied body, the bark felt hard and jutted out in rough contours, protruding slightly into her back. Great, a full day of intense travel and all she got was an atrocious bed like this. She'd be really sore when tomorrow morning came along, that was for sure.

The pink-haired kunoichi glanced crossly around for Sai, hoping to see if he was sharing similar distaste for their sleeping conditions. To her surprise, the pale jounin remained upright, faced away from her, apparently in vigilant observation of their surroundings.

"Sai!" she called, all personal miseries forgotten.

He turned to face her.

"Hm?"

"What are you _doing_?"

"Guarding you"

"Forget that. You need sleep" she told him firmly.

"That's okay" he said, smiling, "I'm fine"

No he wasn't. No one was fine after a nine hour journey at full speed.

"Sorry, but you're not" she informed him, "Come sleep"

Sai pretended not to hear her. That was a bad idea on his part.

"If you don't sleep right now, I'm going to punch your daylights out and _force_ you to" she threatened.

For a moment, he didn't move, in what seemed like a silent weighing of her words. Then, he smiled slightly, and moved slowly toward her.

"Much better" she said, amused.

As he lay down beside her, she felt the slightest brush of his skin against her own. It was the tiniest detail, not even an intentional detail, but nonetheless the contact evoked a warmth that burned on her arm even after he turned over and away from her. She couldn't describe it with words, but it felt nice.

Really nice.

She rolled onto her back and gazed up at the night sky, at the thousands of shimmering dots on a canvas of deep blue above her.

"The stars are really pretty tonight" she told Sai sleepily.

"Hm"

"Don't you think so?"

The question did not earn her a response.

"Sai..."

His reply was a soft snore. Sakura smiled to herself. Not tired, her rear end.

With a sigh of satisfaction, she closed her eyes and listened to the sounds of the night, to the hooting of owls, to the rustling of the wind, and to Sai's measured breathing. It all felt so perfectly peaceful.

She allowed herself a brief stare at the boy beside her, and took in the details of his face as he slept, the way the occasional breeze ruffled his bangs, the way the moonbeams illuminated his pale face in almost-angelic highlights. He really was quite attractive, Sakura mused to herself. She shut her tired eyelids and let the tranquility of the night overtake her.

Within a matter of moments, she drifted off into blissful slumber.

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YAY. This update took a lot of effort, so read and review please, thanks! :D


	4. In Which the Village is Reached

**Warning:** This fanfiction will eventually describe mature content in graphic detail. You have been warned.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters Kishimoto has so imaginatively created. Unfortunately.

* * *

The morning was still young when Sakura opened a sleepy eyelid to the new day. _And what a beautiful day, _she thought to herself, as she surveyed the world through her half-lidded eyes.The sun shone through the thin canopy of leaves above, bathing the upper tree branches in pleasant warmth as the pink-haired jounin sat up and rubbed her eyes. She yawned loudly, raising her arms in a lethargic wake up stretch.

And immediately regretted it.

The simple movement brought sudden, sharp pains shooting through her entire body, arms, legs, back, everything.

"Ow!" she cried out loud.

Damn. She had known she'd be sore, but this was definitely unexpected. She felt like someone livid with anger had driven the full force of his knuckled fists into her joints some forty times before knocking her out with a final jab to the head. Certainly not an enjoyable experience.

Gingerly, she raised herself to an upright position, easing her weight as best she could onto her aching legs. Feel the burn. Oh yea, she was feeling it, alright. The mere act of standing up made her cringe in pain.

Where was Sai? He had slept next to her last night, right? She looked around expectantly at the area around her, but the pale jounin was nowhere to be seen. Given that everything more than twenty feet away from her was obstructed by trees, that wasn't saying much. Even so, Sakura was worried.

"Awake?"

The pink-haired kunoichi uttered a half-shriek of surprise as she jumped, jolting around to face the speaker.

Sai stood in front of her, lips turned up in a small smile. Sakura looked genuinely flustered by his sudden appearance. She really needed to be more careful. They were standing in enemy woods, after all, and had his mission partner been as vigilant as she was supposed to be, his presence (though well concealed) should have been noticed at once.

What if an enemy had appeared behind her? Her death would have been quick and merciless. His colorful imagination painted a picture of the pink-haired kunoichi splayed across the ground, crimson blood spurting from a blade impaled through her heart.

The mere thought brought a pang of denial to his chest.

What was this feeling?

Why had he never felt it before?

The thought of Sakura dead should have felt the same as the thought of any other shinobi partner dead: expected and insignificant. So why was he suddenly experiencing this feeling, this panic?

"You have to be more careful" he managed to inform her tonelessly, "We're in enemy territory"

Sakura scowled at the pale jounin, apparently unaware of his unease. She had just woken up from an exhausting journey with countless pains and aches because of _him_, and he had come up behind her to scare her and tell her she needed to be careful? The nerve of the boy…

"I just woke up!" she snapped, "And I'm sore and grumpy from traveling so freaking long yesterday. So give me a break"

"Well, enemy ninja won't wait for you to wake up and recover before they attack you" Sai responded, voice matter-of-fact.

"Oh you _would_ say that" she retorted grumpily, "Fine, fine, whatever"

Sai smiled.

"Next time you creep up on me like that, I'll be sure to launch you painfully into a tree" she added, scowling, "That'll make you proud, oh _great_ ninja master"

The pale jounin chuckled.

Wait, what?

Since when did he chuckle? He had never found anything funny enough to react to, and here he was, laughing at a statement that wasn't even funny. What was _wrong_ with him?

Sakura was as perplexed as Sai himself. Had she just heard him laugh?

"Hey, did you just laugh?" she asked disbelievingly.

The pale jounin nodded uncertainly.

"Yea…I guess..."

How was he supposed to respond? He'd never done it before.

They looked at each other awkwardly for a moment.

And Sakura really hated awkwardness.

"Anyway, I'm ready, so let's get to our target" she said hastily, dispelling the uncomfortableness with false cheeriness.

Sai was only too eager to comply.

"Alright" he replied.

"But take it slower this time" the pink-haired jounin added after a moment of consideration. Heading after an S-class criminal with fatigued limbs would be suicide.

He turned to face her, and acknowledged the suggestion with a small nod.

"Okay"

Then, after taking a moment to orient himself, Sai leapt forwards deeper into the forest. After a brief adjustment of her headband, Sakura followed suit.

Though she was sore, falling into step with the pale jounin proved easier this time. He had chosen a pleasant pace, and the pink-haired kunoichi had no trouble keeping up. It would be an hour or so until they reached the Hidden Village of Rain. She could relax for now.

They were about fifteen minutes away from their destination when trouble came to call, and when it did, Sai stopped so abruptly in front of Sakura that she nearly crashed over him as she landed beside his tense body. They were standing on a thick branch in a clearing surrounded by three other large trees, and the pink-haired jounin had no idea why.

Just before she opened her mouth to ask her mission partner why they were stopping several miles short of their target, she noticed. Faint chakra signatures could be made out at her right, left and directly in front of her, forming a kind of semicircle of three people. Judging by their chakra levels, they were probably only moderately skilled, chuunin rank or so. But in the shinobi world many things were not what they appeared to be, so Sakura flexed her muscles in preparation for a fight.

The unrolling of cloth caught the pink-jounin's attention, and her eyes glanced at the source of the sound. Sai had whisked out a scroll of white fabric and a brush, and was now painting swiftly across the material what appeared to be little black birds. Then with a flourish, he pocketed his brush and held two fingers to his face.

Sakura's eyes widened in surprise as the quick piece of artwork exploded into life. Twelve streaks of darkness shot noiselessly towards the chakra figures, four to each shinobi.

What an interesting technique.

Alright then, if Sai was going to make a move, she would as well. Reaching into her hip pouch, her hands emerged spinning six kunai, three on each. With a flick of her fingers, they flew towards the center of the clearing. Then, clashing at one point, they shot in six different directions, heading for the heads and legs of their silent visitors.

Yelps of surprise greeted Sakura and Sai's ears. Three men leapt out into the open, pursued by the flock of angry black birds which flew so fast they could not even be distinguished as animals.

Two men had kunai buried in their knees, and blood gushed freely down their wounded legs. Peck marks were vividly obvious, as holes of red were scattered over their bodies.

Sakura smiled. Showing themselves was a mistake. Game over. Her nimble fingers flashed, and the four throwing knives which her targets had managed to evade zipped out of the branches they had buried themselves in. With sickening squelches, they speared themselves through the three ninja, who, unable to manuever nimbly in midair, shrieked as they were struck neatly in their chests.

After witnessing the maneuverability and utility of Old Lady Chiyo's chakra strings during their fight against the puppet master of Akatsuki, Sasori, the pink-haired kunoichi had observed and studied the art of marionette ninjutsu and managed to teach herself how to create and use chakra threads. While she could nowhere near call herself a puppeteer, she had learned the most basic technique of the art, and it had just proved its worth as she directed the lodged kunai that would otherwise have been useless into her targets.

And now all that was left was to finish the job. She kneeled, flexing her legs as she gathered chakra into her right arm. Three punches, and her unfortunate victims would kiss the waking world goodbye for at least a week.

An enormous pit of what appeared to be black fire swallowed the three men. Sakura gawked, turning to Sai, who had both hands clasped together in concentration. The flames devoured them, stifling their screams of terror, engulfing them in thick darkness that could not be escaped from. Then, apparently satisfied, the pale jounin let his arms fall to his side, and the "pit of fire", which the pink-haired jounin could now perceive as a pond of raging black ink, sunk into the dirt below and disappeared, taking the men with it.

A dull silence rang in the moments that followed.

Then, with terrible deliberation, Sakura spoke.

"Sai, you _killed_ them"

Her mission partner eyed her with a raised eyebrow, but otherwise gave no indication that he acknowledged her statement.

"Why?" she asked, her voice turning demanding.

Silence followed.

"We can't have them calling for help or alerting the village of our presence" the pale jounin responded, after the pause.

"But you could have just knocked them out!"

"And have them wake up a day later and _then _alert the village?" Sai asked lazily.

Damn. He was right again. Sakura's scowl deepened.

"Were those three here to guard the village?" wondered the pale jounin, ignoring his mission partner's glares.

His contemplation changed the subject smoothly.

"Yea," Sakura joined in, deciding to drop the matter, "In Konoha we have guards at the entrance, not five miles outwards in the forest. It's weird"

_What's wrong with this village_, Sai mused to himself.

"If security is stationed this far out, we can probably expect the actual village to be far more heavily guarded" he told Sakura.

"Yea" she agreed grimly, "Be on your guard from here on out"

Sai was about to respond with his usual head nod, but after a moment of consideration, he grinned, the perfect reply forming in his head.

"Don't worry about me," he replied, "Oh _great_ ninja master"

Sakura laughed, her disagreeable mood quickly lifted by the clever retort.

Was this the start of Sai's budding humor?

The more she got to know him, the more approachable he became. Though, many of his philosophies still needed some work.

"Fifteen more minutes, let's go" she told him.

"Okay"

With Sakura in the lead, the pair headed for their destination.

Just fifteen minutes.

Just fifteen minutes until they reached the Hidden Village of Rain.

Just fifteen minutes until the real trouble would begin.

* * *

Sorry for the late update, people. I was stuck in the middle of nowhere for the past two weeks with NO INTERNET CONNECTION, hence the late update. Be on the lookout for chapter five, it should be out quite soon.

To my reviewers: I love you all.

And as always, read and review, please, thanks!


	5. In Which Contact is Made

**Warning:** This fanfiction will eventually describe mature content in graphic detail. You have been warned.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters Kishimoto has so imaginatively created. Unfortunately.

* * *

There it was.

Through the clearing of branches ahead, Sakura could make out the walls of their destination, the Hidden Village of Rain.

And the walls looked quite formidable.

She dropped and landed on a branch, Sai arriving a moment later.

"Looks like we were right" he commented after surveying their target, "This village has an impressive defensive system"

Sakura had to agree. Dark figures were scattered across the towering walls, no doubt sentries ready to pounce on unwanted entry hopefuls. In addition, unlike the welcoming open entrance of Konoha, the doorway to the Hidden Village of Rain was barred by an enormous iron gate.

Beyond the metal barrier, dark rain clouds hung over the interior of the city, a strange sight given the otherwise blue, cloudless sky that spread everywhere else. Through the heavy haze of rain, the pink-haired kunoichi could make out the obscure outlines of what appeared to be massive skyscrapers.

Sakura sighed. She hated rain. Rain drenched her spirits like it drenched everything else. Unfortunately, it appeared like the village lay under a perpetual rain cloud, so as long as she remained there, she'd be soaked mercilessly.

"Sai" she said softly.

"Hm?"

"How are we supposed to get in there?" she asked.

"Look" said Sai, pointing.

Sakura followed the path of his finger to the gate ahead.

A man had arrived in front of the entrance. She watched intently as two of the figures atop the gate leaped off and confronted him. They were speaking, but from such a distance, the pink-haired kunoichi could not hope to hear what about.

Her eyes widened as the guards snapped what she saw as a pair of metal cuffs around the person's wrists and patted him down. Then they were talking again.

Time seemed to slow to an eternity as the three conversed, but the moment eventually came when they stopped speaking. Apparently passing the examination, the two removed the handcuffs and allowed the man through the gate, which opened creakingly, as if not accustomed to use. As soon as he passed through, the heavy barrier crashed back to the earth, a resounding boom echoing eerily in its aftermath.

"Security's pretty tight" remarked Sai unnecessarily in the silence that followed.

"Don't worry, there are plenty of ways to get in" Sakura informed him, but her voice lacked conviction.

"Such as?" was the response.

"Give me a minute" she told him.

Was that skepticism she heard in his tone? It had better not be. Underestimating her would be a terrible mistake.

She would show him.

But…what way indeed.

The immediate method that came to her head was a brute, forced entry. With a chakra-imbued punch, those formidable walls would be reduced to miserable rubble in an instant. While that was a possible option, it was impractical. They were trying to enter a village secretly, not trying to start a war.

She wracked her brain for its knowledge, for its collection of ninjitsu, of its genjutsu. There were endless techniques of the stealthy nature in a jounin's repertoire.

A jutsu came to her head, one of Tsunade-shishou's personal skills which Sakura had begged the Godaime to teach her a few years ago.

After a moment of consideration, she decided that that particular jutsu would be perfect for the occasion.

"See, I already know a way that'll work" she told the pale jounin.

He raised an eyebrow.

"Do tell"

She chuckled, and leaned in to whisper the plan. After a minute, Sai nodded and gave her a small smile.

"Sounds like a plan" he said.

Another individual had gained admission into the heavily-guarded village. Everything appeared the norm as the massive metal gates were raised and the two watchmen escorted the person into their village. No one noticed the tiny slug slowly slide its way through the briefly-open entrance.

Surprisingly, the rainy streets of the Hidden Village of Rain were bustling with activity. Crowds of people clad in large ponchos swarmed through the streets, and the little slug had difficulty maneuvering its way toward the dark alley ahead without getting smashed by the massive shoes. But it was familiar with dangerous travels, and after several tense minutes the slimy organism made its way into the concealing shadows behind the building.

Hidden under cover of darkness, no one noticed as the slug exploded into a pool of mucus, and two figures leapt out from its slimy remains. Sakura turned triumphantly to face Sai and grinned as she viewed his disgusted expression, which said something along the lines of _Why am I covered in slippery mucus?_

"Mind getting this stuff off me?" he asked miserably.

The pink-haired kunoichi giggled softly.

"Don't be such a sissy. The rain will wash it off" she replied.

She glanced at his face to see his reaction, and nearly burst out laughing (which would have been disastrous given their position and rather public location) at the facial expression he wore.

Sai was _pouting_.

On a face where she saw nothing but pure boredom and fake smiles, the jutting lower lip and wronged eyes were impossibly comical.

"Fine, fine, you big baby" she said, and clasped her hands together, forming a seal.

"This will feel funny, so don't scream or anything" she warned him.

The pale jounin shot her a look which plainly stated _Since when do I scream._

Sakura chuckled.

"Well you're such a baby I can't even be sure" she joked.

Her hands grasped Sai's shoulders lightly, and green light coursed over his pale skin.

"It feels funny" he remarked.

Sakura rolled her eyes.

"I told you so" she responded.

As the wave of emerald washed over the pale jounin, the mucus dissipated into the air, and after a moment Sai's pale skin and dark clothing returned to normal.

"Thank you" he murmured.

She nodded.

"Why did you learn that technique?" he asked curiously.

"What, the one I used to clean you with just now?" she responded.

"Yeah"

"I work in the hospital a lot" she informed him, "And when people bleed or vomit over themselves it's easier than to use paper towels or whatever. Plus, then I don't need to touch it"

"I see"

There was a small silence.

"Anyway, now that you're all comfy and situated, let's get going" she told him, "I want a poncho. Being wet makes me angry"

The pale jounin smiled.

"And who's the sissy now?" he teased.

"Shut it. I am a girl" she told him, "I have the right to complain about anything I want to complain about"

"Oh really?" he questioned curiously, "And why do girls get this special privilege? I've never read about it before"

"That's because some things aren't written in books, much to your tormented dismay" she informed him, "Girls are born with a natural inclination of getting our way"

"Not fair" was the dejected response.

Sakura smiled.

"So stop complaining or you'll be acting just like a girl"

Sai sighed.

"Alright"

Sakura looked at him for a moment, and then turned away, smiling to herself. In the time that she had gotten to know him, Sai had become so different, so completely different from the apathetic jerk she had first drawn him out to be. It was so apparent, so obvious, from his face, from his words, and even from his tone. Everything.

And Sakura liked the change, liked it so much, liked _him_ so much.

And she realized that _that_ was the simple truth.

Sai, with his soft smiles, his pale skin and his fluffy short hair, with his unruffled calm, his innocent remarks, his cute obliviousness, had managed to make Haruno Sakura fall in love with him. And he didn't even know it.

"Why are you just standing there?" came the voice of said boy.

Sakura spun, meeting his eyes, which were evidently puzzled from her sudden lack of motion.

"Oh, just daydreaming, I guess" she answered vaguely.

If only he had any idea exactly what about.

"Oh" he replied.

She mentally cursed. He was probably thinking about how strange she was for daydreaming in the middle of a rainstorm. The two generally didn't go together.

"Whatever. Let's go" she said, walking away.

"To get ponchos?"

"Yeah" she replied, "Now where's the nearest store…"

"We're standing next to one" he informed her promptly.

"Ah" she remarked dumbly, "How, uh…convenient"

Sai nodded, smiling a little.

Sakura giggled awkwardly.

"Let's go already, the rain is driving me insane" she told him.

"Okay, it's a little cold, might as well get inside" he agreed.

Cold, eh?

Sai just said he was cold.

Sakura didn't think.

She didn't consider.

Her body just moved on its own accord.

Her hand, which was at her side just a moment ago, slid into his.

The pale jounin's eyes flew wide open.

The feel of her fingers, wet from the rain, invaded his senses the instant they contacted his own. He could feel everything, everything one could possibly know about Haruno Sakura's hand.

He could feel the soft pads of her fingers, soft even after her obviously intensive training, soft even after being subjected to this chilling weather.

He could feel the slender length of her hand, the smooth and delicate contours of each individual finger as they interlocked with his own.

He could feel her palm, the squeezable, plushy portion of her hand, the part which remained warm in the cold, warm against his.

But more so than her hand, he could feel his heart, his usually stable heart, which had began beating at a frighteningly quick tempo.

And it didn't end there,

The warmth of her hand seemed to spread like fire through his body, coursing through his veins like nothing he had known before.

And it felt nice.

Really nice.

And not only that, he wasn't cold anymore. At all.

"Uh…" Sai managed to say.

Sakura eyed him anxiously, wondering if she had made too bold a move. She could just take her hand away now and apologize, saying she didn't mean to do anything.

But his hand felt so perfect, so _right_, in hers, so fitting, something like how a key would fit a lock.

So she didn't, and waited nervously for what he would say.

"…thanks" he finished, "I'm not cold anymore"

On the outside, Sakura smiled in response.

On the inside, her body was melting in relief.

"No problem" she said, trying to imbue sweetness into her tone to dispel the awkwardness of his words.

Then, hands still clasped softly together, they walked around the building, toward the door, toward the dry interior of the shop that they had delayed entering for so long.

* * *

Ack, sorry this update took so long! I was uninspired for a quite awhile, and I've been gone a lot as of late as well. But here you are! R&R as always, thank you :


	6. In Which the Man is Interrogated

**Warning:** This fanfiction will eventually describe mature content in graphic detail. You have been warned.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters Kishimoto has so imaginatively created. Unfortunately.

* * *

The door swung open with a tiny squeak as Sakura and Sai, soaked with the unremitting rain, stepped into the small grocery shop.

The inside of the building was a sorry sight.

Undernourished fruits lay cluttered in small wooden bins. Yellow lights lined the low ceiling, but several were cracked and not functioning. Dust could be made out in certain areas where dusting had been neglected, and the floor was covered with splotches of brown that were probably pools of dried mud.

"May I help you?" came a raspy voice from behind them.

Sakura jumped; Sai turned to face the speaker.

A wizened old man was staring at them from behind a counter. As the pale jounin eyed this strange individual, he had to bite back a snicker.

Dark, beady eyes set into wrinkly skin, with silvery stubble covering the lower portion of his face. The clerk looked more like an ancient mouse than Sai could ever have imagined humanly possible.

Sakura took the initiative.

"Um, yes, we would like two ponchos please"

The man did not seem to hear her.

Sakura was about to speak again, but stopped herself as she met his eyes.

He was scrutinizing her face with an intensity so fierce she felt uncomfortable, his small, black eyes boring into hers.

Then he smiled.

"Two ponchos, sure" he confirmed.

_This guy is really strange_ thought Sakura suspiciously.

Something was bugging her about this person. Did he know? Could he tell they weren't from the village?

The clerk turned his back to them, his arms moving to rummage for something blocked from their sight.

Sakura tensed.

Sai's hands were a blur, seals forming in an impossibly fast flow of motion.

And then the man shouted, shouted as dark snakes wound around him, shouted as he dropped the hand-held device clutched in his fingers, shouted as the serpents bound themselves to his neck, to his mouth, strangling him.

Sakura walked over to the object the clerk had dropped and picked it up, studying it.

There was a button protruding from the middle labeled 'emergency', and a speaker on the bottom with a small button on the side.

"What is that?" asked Sai casually, ignoring the muffled cries of the frantic man.

"Seems like a walkie talkie or something" she responded.

Sai considered that information for a moment.

"Let's just leave it here" he decided.

Sakura nodded, and placed the device back on the ground where it had fallen.

She paused for a second of contemplation.

"How…" she wondered slowly.

"…did he know we weren't Rain ninja?" Sai finished.

Sakura smiled.

"It's like you can read my mind or something. Yea" she answered.

"I'm not sure" admitted the pale jounin.

Sakura sighed.

"I should have thought of henge" she muttered.

"Well, I don't think he found out from our appearance. Anyway, we know we have to be careful now. These people obviously don't want foreigners in here"

"Alright. There are ponchos hanging on the wall, they should conceal our faces and shield the rain at the same time" she responded, "Can you get two of them?"

"Okay"

He stepped over the dying clerk, paying no heed to his bulging bloodshot eyes and blue, oxygen-deprived skin. Then he grabbed two of the rubber rain suits off the hanger on the wall, tossed one to his pink-haired mission partner, and stepped over the man again.

"Thanks" Sakura said, and threw the poncho over her head. Sai followed suit a moment later.

They flipped the massive hoods over their heads and peered at each other under the darkness.

"Can barely tell it's you even with the light" grinned Sakura.

Sai smiled.

"Yeah, same for me" he responded.

"Okay let's get going then. This village is huge! And it's still raining. How are we going to find Michio?" she asked hopelessly.

Her mission partner laughed. She really did complain a lot.

"By asking around, of course. And you thought _my_ social skills were lacking" he replied.

Sakura scowled.

"And who's going to tell us?" she challenged.

"Any of the ninja here will know" he answered immediately, unfazed by her cynicism, "All the shinobi in a village are connected. You said so yourself. So all we need to do is capture someone and force the information we want out"

Sakura considered that for a moment.

"You're either smart, or I'm stupid" she told him.

Sai chuckled.

"Or maybe you're just unable to think straight because you can't stop thinking about holding my hand" he suggested teasingly.

The pink-haired jounin's heart skipped a beat.

Was he flirting with her? Since when did Sai know how to flirt?

"Don't flatter yourself" she retorted.

"Your hand felt nice" he told her truthfully.

Sakura did a double take.

What?

Sai's complete directness and inability to know what was comfortable to say and not comfortable to say was evidently still very much part of him. But unlike before, Sakura was not disgusted. Far from it. Really, she was appreciative of his honesty, especially since his comments had become far less malicious than they once were.

She felt like Sai wouldn't find her awkward, wouldn't tease her or judge her, if she told him exactly what was on her mind. He just wasn't that type of person, most probably because he did that as well.

Still, Sakura was at a loss for words.

"Uh…"

"Yea" he said happily, "It was really soft and warm"

Sakura's could not bite back a giggle.

Sai was so impossibly cute, both physically and personality-wise. She realized she didn't feel uncomfortable around him at all, no matter what he said or did.

"Sai?"

"Hm?"

"You're really cute" she informed him.

He laughed.

"Thank you"

"Mm, anytime" she responded.

Then, taking his hand, she led him out to the darkness of the city.

oOo

The man was just another person in the hundreds that called the Hidden Village of Rain their home, an average ninja with no exceptional talent or skill. And while individuals of his profession were taught never to let down their guard, who could expect to remain alert within the very streets of his own village? Certainly not a shinobi of his caliber.

So when the unfortunate man stepped off the busy main road into the narrow street that would take him to his home, he was entirely unprepared for anything out of the norm.

Thus, it was with ease that Sai struck two fingers into the back of the victim's skull, bending to catch the unconscious body before it collapsed onto the rainy street. Then, shifting the man's weight onto one arm, the pale jounin flipped out a long paintbrush dripping with ink. With a fluid flick of his wrist, the dark fluid splattered onto the street, spreading as it mingled with the pouring rain.

With the unconscious ninja still held in the crook of his left arm, Sai stepped into the pool of black before him. There was a tiny squelch as he sunk through the ground and disappeared from view.

oOo

Sakura was miserable.

While she had agreed with Sai that the plumbing of the city was their best bet at maintaining secrecy in this watchful village, sitting under the incessant drip of dank water in the unsanitary confines of rusty metal pipes was an experience she could definitely forgo. What a disgusting place. Oh, the wonderful life of a ninja.

Where was Sai? He'd better hurry; she didn't know how much longer she could endure the repulsive conditions of her current location. Not only that, without the presence of the pale jounin, she felt lonely.

A squelching sound behind her chased thoughts of self-pity away as Sakura's eyes narrowed and her hand flew to clutch a kunai in her hip pouch. A figure was emerging through the grimy bottom of the pipe. The pink-haired kunoichi sighed as she spun the sharp throwing knife in her hand before grasping it and pointing its sharp tip at the dark silhouette.

That had better be Sai. Killing a hostile shinobi and having his or her blood splattered around the already-despicable environment was not an item on Sakura's agenda.

"Who's there?" she demanded commandingly.

"Me, Sai" came the familiar voice of her mission partner.

The pink-haired kunoichi did not drop her guard. Years of shinobi training had imparted in her a perpetual wariness around entities who claimed they were her companions. She had experienced many an occasion in which they were not.

"Don't take another step" she told him.

As instructed, the person stopped.

Sakura breezed through some hand seals, and then raised her arm in the air with her hand cupped. A small flame burst within the space centered in her fingers. She wasn't a genius with ninjutsu but a simple katon technique wasn't too much for her to handle.

The flare cast a miserable light in the darkness, but the small glow was enough for the pink-haired kunoichi to confirm that the boy clutching a man in his arm was indeed Sai. Or at least appeared to be.

But appearance meant little in the ninja world. Sakura herself had mastered the transformation jutsu in the academy countless years ago.

She sighed.

A question only the real Sai could answer would confirm whether the look-alike standing before her was indeed the boy she had grown to adore.

She thought back to their experiences in Konoha, for only in Konoha were their actions absolutely unobserved by outsiders.

The pink-haired jounin wracked her memory. What had they done?

The image of his pale face smiling at her as he drank his ramen soup floated across her eyes. Ah yes, that would work.

"Sai" she called.

"Hm?"

"Where did we eat the day we had this mission assigned, and what did you offer to do?"

The boy was silent for a moment.

Then, in the continuous flow of monotonous voice that was so characteristically Sai, he answered,

"We ate at Ichikaru Ramen and I paid for you, and you were surprised and thought 'I love Sai'"

Sakura couldn't help but laugh. _Indeed I do_, she thought to herself,_ it's just that you don't know that_.

But he was definitely her mission partner.

"Alright, it _is_ you, Sai"

He nodded, smiling.

"You are such a slowpoke" she informed him, hands on hips.

"Sorry"

Whatever.

"Anyway, looks like you have your information holder. Work your magic, oh great ninja master" she said.

The pale jounin laughed.

"Sure thing"

He unrolled a scroll of paper and, with his brush, painted a quick picture of two serpents. As he held two fingers to his face, the artwork exploded into life, becoming massive snakes which coiled themselves around the unfortunate victim, binding him from movement.

Then, faster than Sakura's eye could follow, Sai's hand slammed into the unconscious ninja's chest, blasting him back to the waking world as swiftly as he had sent him away from it.

The man choked on air, gasping.

And then Sai was in his face, staring him down, his dark eyes glaring intensely at the frightened man's.

"Wh-what do you want?" stammered the ninja fearfully.

"Information" was the glacial reply.

"I won't tell you anything!"

"Oh?" responded Sai coolly.

He clasped his hands together, and the black snakes squeezed, constricting the man.

"S-Stop, no!" he screamed frantically, "I'll tell you ev-everything you want to know!"

"Much better" said the pale jounin.

He unclasped his hands, and the serpents loosened their grip on their hostage.

The man sighed in relief.

Then Sai was glaring straight into his eyes again, penetrating his mind with those dark, dark eyes.

"What does the man named Michio look like?" he asked tonelessly.

"I-I don't know who Michio is-"

Sai raised an eyebrow.

"I will ask you again, what does the man named Michio look like?"

"He's tall, ov-over six feet, with red hair and d-dark eyes like yours. And he carries a sw-sword"

"Where does he reside?"

"H-here, in the Rain village!" replied the man, frenetic.

"Your genius escapes me" said Sai, "Now tell me exactly where, and do not waste my time or I promise you the most painful death a human can possibly endure"

The man was shaking uncontrollably. Sakura marveled at Sai. He was indeed a skilled interrogator.

"H-he lives on the o-other side of here, i-in a red house"

"I'm afraid that's not very descriptive" Sai informed him dangerously.

"Pl-please! I do-don't know how to describe it!"

Sakura decided to take the initiative. She stepped forward.

"Sai, I'll handle this" she assured him.

Her mission partner glanced up at her.

"Okay"

The pink-haired kunoichi stepped forward, as he stepped aside. While Sai was indeed skilled, information like locations and appearance is best given in pictures, not words.

And Sakura knew how to get those pictures.

She closed her eyes, and pressed a finger into the trembling man's forehead.

The world spun and shimmered, and turned an absolute black. Only the three of them were visible.

Sai's eyes widened. Genjutsu? Sakura could use genjutsu of this level?

"Show us" she commanded harshly.

An image flashed in the darkness, the image of a tall, muscular, dark-skinned man with red hair. A long, thin sheath was tied to his side.

Then, another picture came to view. A house: small, rectangular, with a red roof and brown walls, a single window, a red door. The image zoomed out, displaying the route through the village, past the odd skyscrapers, the winding alleys, to their destination.

"Is that all we need to know, Sai?" Sakura asked.

"Yea"

"Okay then"

She removed the finger from the poor man's head, and the darkness scattered away. He breathed a sigh, and went limp.

"Wow Sakura, I didn't know you could do genjutsu like that" said Sai in obvious surprise.

While he had known she was a highly accomplished shinobi like him, he had not expected her to be amazing. Now he knew why the Hokage had assigned him to this dangerous mission with her.

The pink-haired kunoichi smiled.

"I'm a genjutsu type. It comes naturally to me" she told him.

"Ah, I see"

"Now let's get going" she continued, "I hate this gross, dark place you made me sit in for the past forever"

Sai smiled. Complain, complain, complain.

But he liked it. He liked how she was talkative, how she cared for him like no one ever had, how she laughed, how she got annoyed.

How her hand felt in his.

He remembered it so clearly, the feel of her fingers sliding into his palm, the soft texture, the warmth.

Sai had a blank look on his face. Sakura was mildly concerned.

"Are you daydreaming or something?" she asked.

The pale jounin blinked, processing her question.

"What?"

"Are you daydreaming?" she asked again.

"Well…" he replied, trailing off.

"Well?"

"Well, yes" he finished, "I suppose I was"

* * *

Yay, that was a quick update wasn't it! To make up for the super slow one last time, my bad :P

Anyway, I thank my reviewers, as usual, and give me more! i love reviews xD

And to my best friend: GRAMMAR IS IMPORTANT BUT IRRELEVANT WHEN ONLY ONE MINOR MISTAKE IS MADE.


	7. In Which the Enemy is Met

**Warning:** This fanfiction contains MATURE CONTENT IN GRAPHIC DETAIL. I repeat, this fanfiction contains MATURE CONTENT IN GRAPHIC DETAIL.

And this chapter is NOT MEANT FOR THE QUEASY. I can't tell you guys more, but you have been warned.

To my dear sister: Don't read this. Seriously. It's scarring, you have _no_ idea.

To Christine: Teehee :P

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters Kishimoto has so imaginatively created. Unfortunately.

* * *

The people bustled quickly through the narrow streets, faces shadowed by enormous hoods which billowed and slapped with the raging gusts of wind.

Sakura and Sai, clad in rubber ponchos like the rest of the civilians, did not stand out as they hurriedly turned off the main road onto the small street on the left. Behind them, colossal skyscrapers towered over the village, disappearing through the clouds that relentlessly emptied themselves onto the town.

Three houses down on the right side sat a small house.

They headed for it.

It was ordinary enough, with plain red tiles for a roof and faded brown walls. But to the two ninja making their way towards it, this residence was far from ordinary.

The house was home to a man named Michio, their target, an S-ranked missing nin who stole a precious pendant from their client, an abhorrent monster who slew his own people for money.

Sakura and Sai stopped two houses away, concealing themselves from public view behind a tall bush.

The pale jounin unrolled a scroll of parchment and brushed a quick picture of two black mice. With a quick hand formation, the rodents scurried off the paper onto the street, under the door, and into their destination.

Sakura gave him a vaguely quizzical look.

"To look for the pendant" he informed her.

"Ah" she responded.

The pink-haired kunoichi turned back to glance over the house once more, waiting for the return of the dark mice.

Sai stared at her back for a moment, watching the rain splatter onto her shoulders and flow down the folds of the rubber raingear to drip into the puddles on the ground.

His keen eyes took in every detail, watching as the raindrops exploded into tiny beads of water as they contacted her body, as they darted down the expanse of her back to join with other droplets, as she trembled with the cold and the water cascading down her body trembled as well.

Sai realized that Sakura had shivered.

The pale jounin didn't think when he moved forward and took her hands into his, willing his body heat into her. Her eyes widened in surprise as she felt his fingers squeeze hers tenderly. She looked up at him, her pale, sea-green irises reflecting his uncertain but immeasurably caring profile, and she felt warm, suddenly warm, not so much from his hands but from that look on his face, his impossibly compassionate expression.

And at that moment all she wanted to do was to bridge the gap between them, to fill the small space that separated her chest from his, so she leaned forward and hugged him, wrapping her arms around his soaked poncho, not noticing the rain, the rain that she hated so much, the rain that made her fuss like no other, for at that moment all that mattered was him, all that mattered was Sai.

He was stunned, shocked by her embrace, shocked by the first embrace he had ever experienced. Warmth coursed through him like a river of water, flowing from her arms to his waist to his chest and legs to his head and his arms, everywhere.

He had always been perplexed by the sight of people hugging. They were simply grabbing each other, what was the point? But as the pale jounin received his first hug, his puzzlement was abruptly cleared.

It felt nice.

_Really_ nice.

He could stand in the rain and hug forever.

But he noticed something was missing. Something was not right about their embrace.

He realized that the motley people he had seen hugging always had both arms around each other.

That was it.

It was his arms, his pale arms hanging limply at his side, which were missing. Missing from Sakura's waist.

Slowly, tentatively, he raised them and closed them around the pink-haired kunoichi.

He heard Sakura sigh softly as she relaxed into his arms.

It was so perfect, so right.

They were interlocked, connected, impervious to the rain, which pelted them unmercifully. But they were joined, linked, impossible to separate. They were a beacon of happiness in the midst of misery, kept shining by each other's warmth.

"Well, well, what have we here?" drawled an unpleasantly hoarse voice.

The two were near symmetrical as they jumped apart and spun, confronting the newcomer.

The man smiled, the corners of his mouth lifting ever so slightly in an impossibly frigid smirk which radiated not warmth, but a chill so cold that the two could not help but shiver.

Sakura gasped as she sized him up.

The man towered over them, immense in all ways humanly possible, in height, in bulk, in presence. Long locks of crimson hair draped over the right side of his face, plastered against his wet skin. His eyes, a piercing hue of bright red, glared out of deep-set sockets, scrutinizing them with their menacing gaze, and his skin, scarred in several places and tanned to brown, was visible in the little of his face not covered in shadow.

Michio was far more intimidating in person than Sakura had imagined.

He held his hand up for them to see, and within his grasp scurried two frantic black mice.

"Does one of you care to tell me why these maggots were running around in my house?" he asked dangerously as he crushed the rodents with ease and they exploded in a splash of ink.

Had it not been for the pattering rain, the response would have been a heavy silence.

"You won't tell me?" he asked, voice laced with mock hurt, "Well, never mind, I already know"

"Two insolent brats" he continued, "Come to my house to steal my possessions, and they can't even knock on the door and greet me face to face?"

He paused for a moment, as if waiting for a reply.

"What are they teaching brats these days" he sighed, shaking his head, "Seems like I need to give you two a lesson in manners"

Sai's reaction was impossibly quick, kunai out and flying in less time than it took to bat an eyelash.

But Michio moved with a speed and ease no man with his body structure should possibly move with, his torso and legs bending and rolling like an undulating wave to evade the throwing knives without so much as a flinch.

Sakura rushed forward, fist clenched and blazing with blue chakra as Sai leapt back and whisked out his scroll and paintbrush.

Michio chuckled lightly.

"So the little boy and little girl want to play, huh?"

He sidestepped the charging kunoichi, swatting away her subsequent kick as if her foot was an irksome fly rather than a considerably forceful lash, and jabbed his elbow into her stomach, sending her skidding away into the muddy dirt.

"Sakura!" cried Sai in alarm, and then he was angry, angry that this man would dare to harm her, to harm the one whose hands felt smooth and soft, whose arms made warmth surge through him.

Lions roared with the rage of their creator, pouncing at Michio with bared fangs and jagged claws, but the red-haired man was unfazed, unsheathing his katana with a flourish and weaving through the beasts' swiping limbs to pierce through their chests. Ink blasted everywhere in massive explosions of black as the great cats ceased to exist in an instant.

And then their katanas were crossed, Sai's shorter blade light against the heavier man's gleaming black one. The pale jounin threw a punch at Michio's abdomen with his free hand but was rewarded only with a slight grunt. The bulkier man's leg swung around, aiming for the younger boy's hip, and Sai only just managed to twist away from the blow before it made contact.

"Not bad at all" Michio commented as if addressing his young adversary's form.

Sai smiled.

The snakes hidden within the puddle of water Michio stood in hissed savagely as they slithered up his legs to his chest and neck, squeezing, constricting the brawny man's air flow.

Michio's muscles bulged in response, challenging the strength of the serpents wound around his torso, but the snakes' combined strength proved more than a match even for the red-haired man.

"Don't bother" Sai told him, "Each of my snakes bind with the strength of ten men. With three wrapped around your neck, you have no chance"

He clasped his hands together and the snakes contracted even more tightly. The man's eyes bulged, frantic.

It was over.

"Don't I?" came a voice behind the pale jounin.

Sai whirled around, shocked.

What happened?

Had he made a shadow clone?

Michio stood laughing, an arm raised, fingers clenching a fistful of pastel-pink hair.

Astonishment turned to fury in an instant.

Sakura was limp, unconscious, lip bleeding, held up solely by her hair, held up by Michio's hand.

Sai's blood boiled, raw anger shaking his body.

"Put her down" he told the red-haired man dangerously.

Michio chuckled.

"Aw, is the little girl special to you? Is she your _girlfriend_?" he laughed evilly.

"I admit, you are not the helpless little boy I first thought you were" declared the red-haired man, "But challenging my power is foolish, and you will be punished for it"

Sakura fell into a puddle with a splash as Michio's hands flashed, blazing through seals.

Sai's paintbrush swept through the air, a myriad of ink droplets flying toward the brawny man. His hands matched his opponent's in speed as the black liquid stretched into piercing needles, shooting through the rain.

But Michio was not impressed. He threw his hands forward, and the rain, the previously annoying but harmless rain, changed course and flew level to the ground, accelerating ridiculously fast from all directions toward the pale jounin.

Ink needles met the storm of rain needles, and for a moment, seemed to penetrate through. Then, overwhelmed by the sheer number and speed, they splashed uselessly onto the floor, diluted and useless.

Sai's brush was a blur, one second at his side, the next sweeping up. A wall of ink cascaded into the sky, and the massive rain barrage smashed against it with colossal force. Yet, the artist's technique stood strong, and as the black barrier fell back to the ground, he stood unharmed.

Sai smiled.

"It was fun, little boy, but I'm afraid it's game over now" whispered a voice next to his ear.

The pale jounin only had time to tense with shock before knuckles connected solidly with the back of his skull.

The world turned black.

oOo

The man towered over her like a predator over its prey, eyes traveling over her body hungrily.

Pure, primal fear.

Sakura had never been so absolutely terrified in her life.

This fear was unnatural, impossible to fight, generating a panic so powerful, so potent, that her muscles would not respond to her mind, could not function.

She was frozen, glued to the floor, her eyes transfixed on his eager eyes, his frightening smile.

"What's the matter?" asked the man, as if he were completely ignorant to the horrendous situation, "You look nervous"

Nervous was a word that could not have been more improperly used to describe Sakura's appearance.

When the pink-haired kunoichi uttered a small whimper of fright, his smile stretched grossly wider, a grin so terrifying that it could not have been human.

"You look so luscious…" he drawled, reaching down to grasp Sakura's vest, "So delicious…"

The red cloth ripped loudly as he jerked his arm up.

For an instant Sakura snapped out of her fear-induced paralysis and managed to scream, to shriek with a horror so terrible that dead men fidgeted uncomfortably in their graves upon hearing it, but a large hand clamped over her mouth, muffling her cries, and though she bit down as hard as she could on the callused flesh, her efforts were in vain.

"Now, now, don't bite, my dear" Michio chided, as if scolding a belligerent hamster.

"…the best is still to come"

He moved with a feral ferocity then, with blind lust, like a shark enticed by the warm blood of its prey. His hands ripped and pulled, tearing her bra off her chest, her skirt off her legs, her panties stretching as if doing its best to protect her before the elastic snapped sickeningly, exposing the most private area of her body.

And she screamed and screamed, with shame, with anger, but mostly with fear, but to no avail, as his massive hand remained clasped against her mouth, stifling her cries.

"Hush, pretty" Michio laughed sadistically, "I won't hurt you…"

He paused for a second.

"…too much"

Then he was on top of her, digging his long nails into her breasts as he gripped them so tightly Sakura was certain she would die from the unbearably searing pain. His teeth broke the plane of her clammy skin, biting with nothing short of bestial voraciousness, and blood poured from her, not dripped from, not welled from, but _poured_ from her shoulder, a gruesome river of dark red snaking down her bared chest to her waist, staining her crimson.

Sakura was near unconscious, trapped in a world of pain, of white-hot pain, of pain that could not hope to be described, unimaginable in magnitude, of _impossible_ pain. She could not even move, her muscles flexed to their limits in reaction.

Her mind was screaming.

_Save me! Just make it stop. Please! I want to die, I NEED to die. Make it stop! Please!_

The events that followed her silent plea happened unbeknownst to the pink-haired kunoichi, as her consciousness departed her brutally violated body and she blacked out.

oOo

Sai had been floating in senseless oblivion when a piercing sound from the waking world penetrated his peaceful tranquility, a sound so shrill and terribly calamitous that his cold, unmoving body twitched in response.

That sound was vaguely familiar.

A scream.

A _very_ disturbing scream.

A scream which rang a bell in his head that he could not quite place.

And even in the midst of unconscious bliss Sai realized exactly what it was that bothered him about that scream.

It was Sakura's scream.

Pure, unadulterated panic filled him, enveloped him, consumed him, and he woke to reality with the sheer force of his fear.

Save Sakura.

Sai sat up, his eyes shooting open, and the horrendous sight which greeted him made his heart throb in anguish.

Michio was straddled across a naked Sakura, his hands grasping her chest and his teeth closed over her shoulder. Blood covered her torso and pooled at her sides. Ever muscle on her body bulged.

And the look on her face, scrunched in an agony not fit to be beared by any living organism no matter how evil, made Sai keel over with spasms of pain, physical pain, which wracked his body unmercifully.

But pain mattered not. No pain could've stopped Sai.

Chakra-suppressing handcuffs snapped the pale jounin's wrists together, but they mattered not; with his muscles saturated with adrenaline, he broke them with ease.

He sprinted forward, toward Michio, toward the gruesome bane of human existence torturing Sakura, hideously violating the person that mattered too immeasurably much to him.

The abomination of humanity looked up in surprise, looked up to see a pale teenage boy surging towards him.

And he was afraid, suddenly afraid, and for good reason, for Sai appeared nothing like the kid he had fought earlier.

Scorching rage radiated from every surface of the pale jounin, his wrath palpable to the point it felt material.

And to the red-haired man whom it was all directed at, he did not see a boy, he did not see a man, he did not even see an infuriated beast.

He saw flames.

In Michio's eyes, Sai was an immense demon of fire, wrathful vehemence surging from his body, the living embodiment of blazing fury.

And then Sai was upon him, hands like talons as they grasped his limbs, tearing, ripping, annihilating. The red-haired man screamed, screamed with incredible agony, screamed like Sakura had screamed, and Sai fed on those screams, his anger fueling on the terribly familiar sounds.

_Hurt him, demolish him, rip him to shreds, make him feel Sakura's pain one thousand times over._

And Michio screamed and screamed, his coarse shrieks blasting the walls of his house.

He had enough time to realize that Sai's fingers had plowed through his cherished muscles, had swiped through the tissue and rendered his limbs useless.

He had enough time to realize that his arms and legs hung off his body, that Sai had ripped them out of their sockets and essentially dismantled his bone structure, that he was held together by his skin and his skin alone.

He had enough time to realize that he was woozy, that blood was cascading furiously out of countless deep scratch marks which scored his body red.

And he had but a moment to realize that Sai had ripped his throat out of his body, that blood drowned his vision in sickening red and spurted like a geyser out of his neck, that his despicable actions had finally been brought to an end.

And then he was dead.

Michio was dead.

The one who had hurt Sakura was dead.

Sai's anger subsided, seeping away from his body like water draining into a sewer, and he sagged to the ground, wasted.

The pale teen looked at his arms. They were covered in blood.

He looked at his chest, his legs, his waist, his shoulders.

Everything was covered in blood.

He keeled over and barfed, steaming vomit hurling from his open mouth and spilling over the floor.

Sai was exhausted, nauseous, soaked with blood, but all those woes were irrelevant, infinitesimal hindrances meant to be ignored.

Sakura.

That was what mattered.

He crawled unsteadily over to her, her naked body limp on the floor.

"Sakura…?" he asked.

She was silent.

Why wasn't she answering him? Why was she not saying his name?

His heart pounded.

"Sakura?" he asked again, this time more urgently.

His hand shakily found its way to the side of her neck, to where her pulse was supposed to be.

But it was not there.

Fear overwhelmed him.

"No…" he said softly, holding his fingers there, hoping he had missed it.

But her pulse could not be felt.

"No…" Sai repeated, denial ringing in his voice, "No…No…No, No, NO, NO!"

He was shouting now, shouting at the top of his lungs, not caring if he was heard, not caring for the rest of the world. Maybe if he shouted loud enough, Sakura would wake, would open her eyes and smile for him like she always did.

And so he shouted, screamed, yelled until his voice was hoarse and cracked, until he choked on his free-flowing tears, tears which he had never shed, never had reason to shed.

Sakura could not be dead.

It was impossible, it wouldn't be fair.

She wasn't dead.

But no matter how many times he repeated it over and over in his head, that she was alive, that she had not left him to live in this lonesome world alone, the nagging voice of reality told him that he was wrong, that the girl who had brought meaning to his life was gone, gone forever.

He looked down at her again, running his hand over her smooth skin, her perfect skin, perfect even in death, and his tears gushed over her face, spilling onto her eyelashes and cheeks, her bubblegum-pink hair.

"Sakura, why?" he asked her cold body, "How could you do this to me?"

And he was angry, angry that she had latched herself so deeply in his heart without his permission and then left without asking him, without telling him.

But he could not be mad at her, not for long, because Sakura meant happiness to him, and anger and happiness could not live with each other.

So Sai just cried, cried and cried, ashamed that his tears splashed across her beautiful face but even so, unable to look away.

_No..._

He picked her up, her bare skin clammy against his. How ironic it was that in death she did not warm him, but rather, chilled him.

_Sakura...no..._

He cradled her head in his lap, stroking her wet hair away from her face, and stared, stared for an eternity at her serene countenance, so that the image of Sakura would be forever fixed in his memory, forever fixed in his heart.

"I used to be such a fool" he mumbled to her, "I thought life was about following instructions. The better followed, the better I was living…"

He paused for a moment, as if hoping for a response, an answer. But there were only his miserable whimpers and the pattering of his tears.

"But you showed me why people cherish their lives so much" he continued, "Why life is so important..."

He brushed a tear off her eyelash.

"Sakura…"

Her lips were slightly parted, and they looked so soft that Sai could not help himself. Leaning down, he opened his mouth, brushing his lips against hers.

They were so soft, so cold.

He leaned further, covering her lips with his, and though he had never kissed before his body knew what to do, caressing her mouth lovingly over and over, the tip of his tongue occasionally grazing her lips.

"You don't know how much I wanted to kiss you before…" he murmured to her, "And now I'll never know how you would've reacted if I asked you if I could"

He bent down to kiss her again.

"Sakura…I…"

He held her close, hugged her tightly to him, wishing he could warm her.

"I…" he whispered, "I love you"

A long silence passed.

"But I guess it's time for goodbye"

His teardrops fell like rain on her face.

"I will never forget you" he told her quietly.

Sai kissed her one last time, held her lips in his for an eternity, breathing into her cold body, his soul enveloped in a sorrow that could not be forgotten, his heart caught in an abyss of grief so deep, so frozen, that nothing joyous would ever charm a smile out of his face again.

Then he stopped.

He could have sworn her chest lifted.

It was probably his imagination, but he wanted her to live so badly that his hope stirred nonetheless.

The pale jounin gazed at her torso anxiously, but it was as still as ever, still like the rest of her body.

Sai sighed.

Even his imagination tortured him with unseen sights and false hope.

A small cough interrupted his melancholic musing.

He jumped slightly, and looked down at Sakura's face.

Emerald eyes sparkled back at him.

Sai's heart soared so quickly he nearly choked with the feeling, and he broke into a smile of unadulterated joy. Happiness coursed through his body like a tidal wave, making him flush pink with excitement.

"Sakura?" he asked her, just to make sure he wasn't dreaming, "Are you alive?"

She scowled at him.

"Very much so, yes. Now stop looking at my breasts, you pervert"

* * *

Ah! This chapter was terribly difficult to write. I think I could make it better but I'm too lazy, but EVEN SO, reviews reviews reviews! :D

For those of you who had not expected gore, I'm very sorry. But I _did_ warn you.

I'll be cramming to get this fic done, so expect the FINAL chapter before school starts, aka by Sunday.

Reviewers: I love you all.

Sister, if you read this, you're a messed-up girl.

Christine, teehee. :P


	8. In Which Affections are Realized

**Warning:** This fanfiction contains MATURE CONTENT IN GRAPHIC DETAIL. I repeat, this fanfiction contains MATURE CONTENT IN GRAPHIC DETAIL.

Kim, Tammy: if you wish to skip the explicit material don't read past the 2nd part.

Allison: don't even THINK about it.

Christine: Teehee :P

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters Kishimoto has so imaginatively created. Unfortunately.

* * *

Sakura's clothes were in shambles, miserable rags that didn't have a sliver of hope to be worn on her body ever again.

At her request, Sai faced away from the pink kunoichi, wiping blood away as he stared at the wall silently and she figured out what to do.

Well, the first thing was obvious.

Her shoulder was bleeding like no other, her body coated in a sickening red, and if that wasn't fixed soon she'd be too dizzy with blood loss to function.

But she didn't want to fix it. All she wanted to do was to lie down, close her eyes, and pretend it was all a bad dream, that a perverse, sadistic, pedophilic man had not stripped her, violently abused her and nearly raped her.

That was evidently an impossible desire.

There was no way she could forget the unbridled terror that had devoured her body, no way she could forget his malevolent, bloodshot crimson eyes boring hungrily into her as if she were a piece of delicious meat, no way she could forget the scarring, carnal way he gripped and clawed at her bared body, his coarse, raucous voice uttering pedophilic words into her ear.

The terrifying remembrances were of such unbelievably horrendous clarity in her scarred memory that she could not even begin to speculate her emotions if Sai had not saved her, if Michio had managed to go through with his twisted plan and raped her.

She was forever in Sai's debt.

Sai, sweet Sai, who had kept her company when she needed it most, who had filled a hole in her heart where loneliness had rampaged freely, who had made her laugh, who had held her and hugged her and made her feel whole in a way she had never felt before. Who had managed to stop a sadistic rapist from robbing her of her innocence in the worst way humanly possible.

Her heart rushed with gratitude for her pale mission partner.

Her head spun with excessive blood loss.

Damn. There could be no more delaying it. Her finger-punctured shoulders needed healing _now_.

Weakly, she grasped her right shoulder with her left hand and began to focus her chakra on the deep wounds. The injury appeared gruesome, but since it didn't strike a vital organ, shouldn't be much of a challenge for a medical ninja of her caliber.

But for some baffling reason, Sakura could not heal it.

It was as if the chakra reservoir in her body was covered by a film of darkness, an impregnable miasma of black which prevented her from drawing the energy out, prevented her from healing herself.

She cursed silently.

It was the blood loss that made her head spin, that made her unable to manipulate the chakra which she normally had superior control over.

_What to do now?_ she wondered, panic beginning to bubble within her frail body, _If I can't heal this wound within the next few minutes, I will probably die._

She needed chakra, and she needed it now. Any longer postponement and she wouldn't be able to operate chakra in any form, let alone draw out her own.

She needed Sai, needed his help, needed him to lend her some of his chakra...

But that would require him to hold her hand, to stoop directly over her unprotected, nude body.

Oh what the hell, this was a life and death situation. Besides, it was not like he hadn't already seen it.

"Sai" she called to him, voice alarmingly faint, "Can you come here for a moment?"

The pale jounin turned hastily, nearly pouncing to get by her side.

Sakura smiled weakly.

"Could you put your hands on top of mine and hold them to my shoulder?" she asked feebly.

Why was her voice so soft, so faint? Sai's heart raced as he nodded urgently and clasped her hands with his.

Her brow furrowed in concentration, a bead of sweat rolling down the side of her face, and a sphere of shimmering green encompassed the deep scratch marks in her shoulder.

He held his breath anxiously as the deathly pale skin sizzled, hissing smoke, and closed itself at an insufferably sluggish rate. It did not help his skyrocketing heart rate that her labored breathing grew fainter and more arduous with each inhalation.

"Okay" she whispered, no longer summoning the energy even to speak, "Switch hands…"

Sai's hands shook as he took her right hand and held it gingerly to her left shoulder.

Was it just his imagination that the emerald light glowed less brightly this time?

Sakura had trouble breathing. She made a mental note never to wait until she was nearly dead before healing herself as her eyes scrunched tightly in concentration. It was increasingly difficult to focus on the wound, to center her curative chakra evenly on the deep abrasion. It seemed so much easier to give up, to surrender herself to death, which lurked at the precipice of her soul, lingering eagerly, waiting.

No, no, she was only seventeen. She had so much left to do in this world. Eventually, there would be an ideal time to die, but that time was still far in coming.

Thank god Sai was holding her hand where it needed to be, furnishing her warmth, maintaining her strength where it was necessary. Without him, she would already be at the brink of heaven. Or of hell. She couldn't be sure which.

Sai was sweating, Sakura's pallid hand nearly slipping out of his as the slick perspiration coated his skin.

_Come on Sakura, focus. Live live live!_

He gripped her hand more tightly, holding it in place. If he let it fall, he knew she would be gone.

The thought made cold fear chill his body, but he forcibly held it at bay, holding onto her hand even more firmly with the ominous prospect of her death looming before him.

Seconds protracted into hours, each one passing painfully slowly in the terse silence broken only by labored breaths.

If Sai's heart could thump out of his chest, the pulsating mass of his left ventricle would probably be pounding out of his left pectoral.

"Okay…" came Sakura's soft whisper, "Sai…thank you…"

He looked into her eyes, his terrified expression reflecting off her dark pupils.

She smiled, the corners of her mouth barely raising.

"Don't worry…" she told him, barely audible, "I'll…be fine…just…need some…rest…"

Her eyes closed and her head would have fallen had Sai not reacted and held it up with his hands.

"Sakura!" he cried, the all-too-familiar rise of panic overtaking him.

He checked her pulse. Beating.

He held a finger to her nose. Breathing.

The pale jounin sighed in relief, allowing a portion of relaxation to calm his body. Like the pink-haired kunoichi had said, she probably just needed to sleep for a bit.

With Sakura's immediate safety secured, Sai's mind immediately switched gears to consider the next course of action. All that anguished screaming would undoubtedly have alerted everyone within a half mile radius to their location, and frankly, it was a miracle that a squadron of ANBU members had not yet surrounded them with swords drawn.

He needed to locate the pendant and evacuate them out right away.

Even under severe emotional trauma, a stress the pale jounin had never dealt with given his newly-discovered feelings, Sai moved with the characteristic efficiency and haste of a highly skilled shinobi.

His brush and paper were out in a second, hundreds of ink mice flowing like a river across the floor. Every crevice, every box, under, over, beneath, would be thoroughly searched. There was no possible way the pendant could be missed.

And then there was the issue of Sakura's exposed body. Now that his nerves had ceased with their sharp spasms, he became acutely aware of how close her bare skin was to his. He could see every part of her body, every private area, and it made him blush severely as he realized.

It would need to be covered.

He quickly painted a small vest and skirt on his scroll of parchment, slamming his palm down to convert the crude lines into material substance.

His face was flushed with embarrassment as he clumsily slid the clothes over her naked form, pulling and tugging the fabric over her shoulders and thighs, painfully aware of how close he was to her sex, how close he was to her breasts.

There was no time for humiliation.

A formidable assemblage of chakra signatures was perilously close. He had maybe five seconds before escape from the Hidden Village of Rain would become a thousand times more difficult.

The mice swarmed to him, a lustrous gold-chain necklace with a sapphire jewel encrusted at one end sailing amidst their gleaming dark backs.

Sai hoisted Sakura up with one hand and snatched the precious heirloom in one fluid motion, heart pounding as he felt the enemies close in on their location.

Three seconds.

He threw the pendant over his neck.

Two seconds.

The brush flashed, the portrait of a bird swept across paper.

One second.

Fingers jutted into the air. A massive falcon burst into life, gusts of wind rolling across the room, rustling the shutters of the window.

The door burst open, and masked shinobi poured like quicksilver through the narrow entryway into the building.

Sai exhaled in disgust.

Shit.

He glanced around the room, surveying the crowded mass of Amegakure ANBU, briefly studying the white animal masks bound to their faces.

"And what do you all want?" he inquired, his tone reverting to its original, long-unused apathetic indifference.

"Don't move" commanded the hooded ninja standing directly in front of the pale jounin.

He was undoubtedly the leader of this group. Only leaders gave instructions.

When Sai stood motionless in apparent acquiesce to the order, the ANBU moved forward, swords drawn, the sharp tips trained on the pale jounin's face.

Sai smiled frostily.

The giant falcon screeched, its shrill call piercing the silence. Massive wings unfurled with a blast, a vortex of colossal wind exploding from the dazzling black plumage. The ANBU ranks stumbled backwards, the circle of space around Sai widening.

He wasted no time.

Placing Sakura gently in the talons of the enormous bird, he grasped a handful of its dark feathers and leapt, wrapping his arms around the great neck.

It screeched again, and the sheer volume in such close proximity stunned the still-recoiling ninja for the brief moment that Sai needed.

With a triumphant cry, the falcon exploded through the roof of Michio's one-time residence, red tiles falling like hail on the ground contiguous to the building. It swerved sharply, once, twice, to avoid consecutive barrages of flying senbon. Then, as it shot out of range from the pursuing needles, the great bird veered slightly north, Sai clinging impressively to its neck, and headed for the sunlit lands beyond the Hidden Village of Rain's ever-present storm clouds.

It was only a matter of moments before a final echo of triumph rang throughout the flat land.

And with that call, the falcon, Sai and Sakura disappeared over the horizon, away from the dismally dreary village they were nearly imprisoned in, away from the nightmarish experiences they had encountered there, and towards the convivial atmosphere of their thoroughly-missed home.

oOo

The earth was a blur of myriad greens as Sai soared over the endless forest.

At the incredible speed which they flew, the wind tore past him ridiculously fast, howling insanely vociferously, his already-tight clothing pressing tighter still to his muscular chest. The pale jounin could not physically open his dark eyes any more than the slits they were currently straining to maintain.

Yet, despite the discomfort and considerable jeopardy of flying at such celerity, the thought had not dared to cross his frantically urgent mind to slow the pace, to settle for anything less than full speed.

Sakura's body needed blood.

While she was temporarily okay, and might possibly be completely okay, the slim possibility that the pink-haired jounin would need medical attention was enough to evoke an exigency in Sai's journey that could not be compromised.

He craned his neck forward, muscles straining against the force of the wind, and made an attempt to peer over the wide expanse of green to the area ahead. Through his squinted eyes, dots of red, yellows and browns could be perceived in the hazy distance.

Konoha was in sight.

_Hold on Sakura, almost there, hold on!_

Sai urged the falcon faster, digging his fingers into the magnificent creature's thick neck.

_Just a few more minutes, Sakura, be strong!_

Several minutes passed before the welcoming red gates of Konoha approached frighteningly swiftly, but for Sai no speed could have been fast enough. The falcon soared through the broad entrance without the slightest hint of slowing, passing the two dazed gatekeepers so rapidly they registered the brief presence of the massive bird seconds after it had already shot away from view.

Four turns to the hospital.

Even with the chaos of the sharp rights and lefts, Sai steered the falcon with an expert adroitness, leaning hard into the abrupt changes in direction while simultaneously yelling out hasty apologies to the screaming villagers below.

The white walls of the public hospital greeted them upon rounding the last bend, filling their vision dangerously quickly.

Sai jerked the bird's neck backwards, pulling with all his strength as his destination roared into view. The falcon shrieked a high-pitched cry of protest, and the pale jounin's eyes watered at the stabbing screech.

"Sorry!" he apologized hastily, patting his enormous creation's feathered head as it halted before the building amidst a cloud of airborne dust.

"Wait here for a moment" he instructed the bird.

He leapt off the wide plane of its back and rolled Sakura gently out of its loose talons, grasping her limp body as he rushed into the hospital.

Konoha's infirmary was enjoying a tranquil day free of excitement. Nurses treaded leisurely in between rooms, walking in only to insure that their quiescent patients were faring well and taking steps toward recovery. The secretary swiveled back and forth in her chair, twirling her pen absently, face rested against the crook of her arm.

The automatic doors burst open with a sickening screech of metal against metal, the normally-unhurried parting of glass panes urged apart with the considerable addition of force from Sai's muscular legs.

Nurses screamed, stumbling frenetically over wheeled trolleys. The secretary was awake in an instant, her eyes open and wide in a flash.

"Help her, now!" Sai told her frantically, indicating the frighteningly pallid kunoichi in his arms.

For a moment, the poor woman opened her mouth, torn between giving the pale teen a piece of her disapproving mind and rushing the unconscious girl to an emergency room.

Then her professional senses prevailed.

"Get this young woman to an ER room immediately!" she barked at the frantic nurses tripping over each other's legs.

"Y-yes m'am!" they responded in unison. A petite, dark-haired woman trotted forwards, hands outstretched, and Sai passed Sakura to her.

"Don't worry" she informed him reassuringly.

Sai worried anyway.

The medic bearing the pink-haired kunoichi turned, orders flowing swiftly out of her mouth.

"Two of you get me a stretcher, you, and you, ready the sheets in room 16, make sure the blood bags are replenished and set to go, get those carts out of the way, clear the hall, get moving!"

The disoriented nurses rushed to comply, running in all different directions as they scrambled to complete her instructions. Nurses appeared with a stretcher, and Sakura was placed gently onto the cloth before she was hurried down the hall, Sai running hot on the nurses' heels.

"Room 16, right side!" reminded one of the medics breathlessly, and the entire entourage swerved to the right as the end of the hallway neared.

Two doors down, the room was already open, scrub-clad nurses running in and out to finish the preparations that had been requested. Sakura, Sai, and the medics surged through the narrow doorframe. The bed was cleared and straightened, and the unconscious jounin lain onto the soft mattress.

"Clear away, clear away!" said the black-haired medic, and the crowd of nurses backed off, exiting the room until only one remained.

"Hisako, tend to the patient, run tests, stabilize her blood pressure, provide oxygen if necessary, you know what to do" she told the nurse standing behind her.

Said medic nodded, springing to work.

The diminutive, dark-haired woman turned back to Sai.

"Now that everything is under control, what exactly happened?" she asked.

Sai hesitated. Did people usually inform the hospital that the patient was nearly raped?

He decided that they didn't.

"We were on a mission. She was injured and knocked out. She lost too much blood" he told her.

"I see" was the reply, "And where were you at this time?"

"I was unconscious" he answered shamefully.

"Indeed"

She glanced down at the pink-haired kunoichi, and then turned to converse briefly with the nurse Sai now knew as Hisako.

The short medic faced the pale jounin once more.

"Well, sir, I'm afraid I must ask you to leave this room for a moment as we figure out if there is anything seriously amiss with her body. There are benches in the hall where you can wait, and we will come out to inform you of her condition in a few minutes"

Sai nodded, stealing one last glimpse at his mission partner's limp form before striding out of the room and shutting the door softly behind him.

The wait for Sakura's results was the longest wait he had ever experienced. The seconds passed by agonizingly slowly, each one punctuated by a distinctive tick that resonated through the length of the resounding corridor, his anxiety mounting incessantly with each one.

After a torturous eternity, the door finally swung open and the dark-haired nurse beckoned the pale jounin into the room. Sai's heartbeat accelerated tenfold as he made his way towards the door, towards Sakura, towards the fateful information that would make or break his fragile reality.

He entered cautiously, closing the door as he stepped in. His dark eyes flitted from Sakura to the nurse, then back to Sakura again.

"Well, young man…" began the petite woman.

Sai's breath caught in his chest. Was she safe? She had to be, he wouldn't forgive her if she wasn't.

"…it seems like your companion is perfectly safe" she finished.

His chest decompressed visibly as the pale jounin sighed, relief coursing through his anxiety-stressed body.

"Thank you, thank you so much" he told the dark-haired nurse, shaking her hand so madly with gratitude that she had to yank it away in order to escape his excited grasp.

"It was nothing really" she responded, clearly flustered by his enthusiastic outburst, "Sakura is an exceptionally brilliant medical ninja. It seems like she tarried too long before healing her shoulder wounds and lost too much blood to remain conscious in the process"

Sai nodded his comprehension.

"Her body is currently working overdrive to produce all those missing red blood cells, so we're going to keep her here for the night. Tomorrow, she should be out and about"

Sai smiled warmly, a mixture of happiness and relief radiating from his face.

"Okay, thanks" he said gratefully.

His gaze lingered longingly on Sakura's smooth face before turning towards the door.

Then, with a small wave to the nurses, Sai headed out of the room.

He was almost at the lobby when hectic commotion barreled his way. Frantic scrub-clad nurses sprinted with stretchers towards him, and he only narrowly managed to sidestep them as they charged down the hall. Sai caught glimpses of battered ninja with bloody gashes scored across their bodies, but could not recognize their faces as the horde of medical staff raced by.

"Rooms 13-16 should all be free!" one of them called out as they rushed past him.

Sai blinked.

Room 16 was not free. Sakura was in that room.

He spun and sprinted after the crowd.

Just as the pale jounin rounded the corner, a medic was running the exact opposite direction. She screamed and he let out a surprised _oomph_ of pain as they crashed full speed into each other and collapsed unceremoniously to the ground.

"Watch where you're going, numbskull!" she shouted furiously, as she grasped the side of her head and rubbed it piteously.

Sai opened his mouth to mumble an apology. The black-haired nurse did not give him a chance.

"I need to catch that pale gentleman who just left room 16! I need him to come back right now!"

She glared at him with fuming dark eyes, and Sai was surprised his clothes did not flare alight with the smoldering heat that emanated from her livid gaze.

The realization that the pale jounin sprawled on the floor before her was the boy she sought was late in coming. She was all set to deck him in the face and continue her pursuit before she recognized who he was.

"Oh!" she laughed, her voice softening to a light, lilting quality so disturbingly quickly that Sai had trouble believing she was the same person, "It's you!"

Sai tilted his head uncertainly.

"Anyway, we received some fatally wounded shinobi that need immediate attention, and unfortunately our hospital lacks available rooms. Is it okay if you take care of your pink-haired friend for the day?" she asked.

Sai blinked, processing what she had just said, and the desperate nurse took his moment of contemplation as a moment of uneasy trepidation.

"Don't worry!" she assured him, "She should be fine anyway, and if she _really_ needs help you can just bring her back in and we'll be able to treat her!"

Sai nodded his agreement.

"Okay"

The smile that lit her face radiated a thousand joys.

"Thanks so much!" she told him. "Wait right here. She'll be right out"

The petite woman bolted back to room 16, leaving a dazed Sai scratching his head in her wake.

Sakura, stay with him?

In his room?

On his _bed_?

The pale jounin's musing was interrupted by the sight of a groggy Sakura ushered towards him by the dark-haired nurse. Sai had to bite back a laugh at the sight of his mission partner's facial expression, a face that shouted a thousand outraged things at once, predominantly phrases along the lines of _Who dared to interrupt my peaceful slumber_ and _I'm going to kill the bitch pushing me forwards with her short arms_.

"Sai!" she exclaimed, death glares erasing off her face the instant she observed her pale mission partner's smiling face.

"Sakura!" he responded, equally cheerful, cheerful to see her face, to see her back (though shakily) on her feet.

He extended a hand toward her.

She laughed, pried the petite nurse's fingers off her waist and took his invitation, her fingers clasping over the smooth back of his hand.

"She's all yours" the black-haired medic told Sai, then rushed back to bark orders at the nurses scurrying in and out of the rooms.

The two stared at each other.

"So, what's going on?" the pink-haired kunoichi asked Sai, breaking the silence. The last she had seen of the waking world was the fuzzy view of a cramped, dark room reeking of the blood smeared around it.

"Well" Sai replied, "You healed your shoulder and fainted, leaving me to deal with the Rain ANBU alone, and I had to _fly_ you out of the place on a massive falcon, cross miles and miles of land alone, rush you into the hospital and make sure you were safe"

"Oh really?" she questioned mischievously, "Quite the charming hero, aren't you?"

"Indeed" agreed Sai.

She laughed, and his heart soared as she did.

"You're so cute" she informed him. Even in her weakened condition, she managed to pull him into a hug. Sai's arms closed reflexively around her waist.

"Nice clothes you gave me, by the way" she said as she glanced down at the crudely-illustrated attire adorning her body.

Sai pouted.

"I drew them just before a snarling horde of Rain ninja surrounded me" he informed her defensively.

"You must've been really scared" she guessed teasingly.

"I was" he admitted, not entirely dishonestly.

"Well, thank you for saving me and making sure I wasn't naked as you did so" she said, laughing.

"Welcome"

They stared at each other for a moment, sea green eyes holding dark brown ones.

"So how come I'm not sleeping in a hospital bed right now?" whispered the pink-haired kunoichi.

"They said you were too much trouble and told me that I needed to take you away because they couldn't stand you" the pale jounin responded, his face solemn.

"Really?"

"Yea" was the serious reply.

"I hate you!" she pouted, pushing him away in mock dislike.

"I love you"

Sakura stopped in her tracks.

Was she imagining things? Did Sai just say what she thought he had said?

She could actually _hear_ her heartbeat thumping out of her chest.

This could not be true. Her ears deceived her.

All the guys she had ever liked did not return her affection.

Guy, she corrected herself. The only guy she had ever liked, Sasuke-kun, did not return her feelings. And not only had he not returned them, but he had coldly passed off her advances without even a glance acknowledging her presence.

She had lived the blossoming love years of her youth bound to the impossibly stoic Uchiha, her obsessed heart unable to settle for any other person. She had suffered the ultimate form of unrequited love, her lifelong crush glacially passing her off as just another negligible fangirl. When he left Konoha in search of greater power, power great enough to avenge his clan and murder his brother, he had not even bothered to say goodbye.

Needless to say, she had been utterly and completely heartbroken.

But now, this boy, this wonderful boy Sai, this boy she could no longer live without, had told her he loved her.

As much as she had trouble believing it, the portion of her heart yearning for it to be true yelled over her pessimistic conscience.

"Really?" she asked softly, and her heart trembled for him to say yes, to confirm what he had said. It would be unspeakably cruel, it wouldn't be fair, if he told her he was just joking now. Not after hope had spiraled out of her body like shooting fireworks.

Sai was silent for a moment. Sakura swore she could die from anticipation.

"I'm pretty sure, yea" he told her.

Sakura melted.

There was no other way to describe her reaction. Her entire body quivered, limbs shaking despite her brain's repeated commands not to, and her heart was a gooey mess of hot, fluid syrup. Her muscles betrayed her, buckling uselessly, and she felt Sai's strong arms hold her upright, squeezing with just enough pressure to keep her standing.

"Are you okay?" came his worried voice from above her.

She buried her head in his chest.

"Yea" was her muffled reply, "Just…a little overwhelmed…that's all"

She thought over what he had said once more.

"Are you _sure_?" she asked again, accentuating the key word with a slight crescendo.

It still seemed such an impossible concept. There was no way someone would like her back. No one had liked her back, ever.

Sai was silent for a moment.

The next thought that came to his mind made him feel slightly dirty, and he debated wheher or not to say it.

But hey, they were seventeen year olds, it was nothing out of the norm. If anything, it was lamentably overdue.

"You don't believe me?" he asked mischievously.

"I'm not sure" was the truthful response.

"Then let me convince you that I mean what I say" he told her.

In one flowing motion he dropped his right arm and hooked his left beneath her calves. She screamed, cursing, and had the nurses not been extremely flustered they probably would have stormed out and admonished the two heartily for making such a frightful din when patients needed their unperturbed repose.

"Let me down!" she shrieked, squirming in Sai's arms.

"That's okay" he told her, "We need to go and we won't be getting anywhere if you're on your feet in your current state"

The pink-haired kunoichi stopped wriggling around for a moment.

"Where are we going?" she asked, curiosity overriding her impulse to protest.

"Home" the pale jounin replied.

And with that, he turned, balancing Sakura so that her legs hung off his left elbow, and strode out the automatic doors of the hospital into the sunlight.

oOo

When the door swung open to Sai's apartment, Sakura wasn't surprised to see that everything was arranged neatly and orderly in a perfectly organized fashion. The walls were white, the carpet a light beige without a single stain marring its flawless expanse.

Oak shelves lined the entirety of one wall, books of all different shapes and sizes packed tidily across in an assortment of motley colors. A small table with two wooden chairs sat in the corner, a low arch leading into a tiny kitchen behind them.

But Sai paid no heed to the furniture organized around his dwelling. He had eyes only for the small hallway directly in front of them, which led to a white door opened slightly ajar.

Sakura didn't need to ask what lay beyond the doorframe.

"I get to see your room?" she asked gleefully.

Sai laughed as he nudged the door open with his knee.

"Yea, lucky you" he answered.

Sakura barely had time to glance around before she was dumped gently onto the bed. She let out a little squeal of delight as her body sunk into the downy mattress.

Who knew Sai's bed was this soft? She would never have guessed.

A slight bounce indicated that he had sat down beside her.

"I have to ask you something" the pale jounin told her.

"Okay"

He paused, staring at her face as if trying to piece together words. Sakura wondered if he had forgotten what he wanted to ask in a span of time that couldn't have amounted to more than two seconds.

Why was this so hard to say? It was just a few words, words like any other, but for some reason Sai needed several moments of composure before he managed to utter a sound.

"Doyouloveme?" he blurted, words babbled so incoherently it sounded like another language.

Sakura's brow furrowed in confusion.

"What?"

Sai tried again.

"Do…you…" he asked, "love…do you love me?"

Sakura smiled, and the unadulterated affection which radiated from her face rendered any hope of a false answer an impossible prospect.

"Yea" she said softly, "Yea I do"

Sai broke into a playful grin.

"In that case…" he said, "I have another question for you"

"Oh?" responded the pink-haired kunoichi, intrigued.

Sai stared at her face for a second, his dark eyes traveling over every contour of her faultless face. She squirmed involuntarily under the intense scrutiny.

"Can I kiss you?" he asked.

Sakura nearly burst out laughing.

Did people ask questions like that?

She was pretty sure they just _did_ it, or at least, that was how it happened in her romance novels. The guy just kissed the girl, without asking, when the moment was right and a mutual tacit agreement was forged.

"Nope, sorry you can't" she chuckled, covering her lips with her palm.

She couldn't help but snicker as his face fell considerably, his hopeful countenance rearranging itself into a puppy-like pout that could elicit pity from even the most stolid of men.

"Darn"

Sai's blissful utopia had collapsed. Sakura was on his bed, her parted lips just about _begging_ to be kissed, and she didn't want him to kiss her.

But she said she loved him!

Perhaps his innate senses were wrong. Perhaps he had insanely misjudged human reactions. He was after all, still an amateur, a newcomer to the world of emotions.

Sai cursed silently.

He knew he should have read more books on the nature of love before carrying Sakura to his apartment. Then she would have been completely wooed by his charm, transfixed by the unshakable bond that was their love-

Soft lips covered his.

In an instant, his distressed contemplations evaporated, his eyes snapping open in astonishment at her touch. For a second, the pale jounin just sat there, emotions shooting helter-skelter through his brain like nerves firing frenzied impulses upon touching something extremely hot.

Then he let his body take over, his inherent desire taking the reins on his actions, and he kissed those immeasurably plushy lips back, kissed them with a passion so fiery he did not even know it existed within him.

Their mouths locked, lips brushing lovingly over and over, and Sai wanted to know every detail, discover everything about those lips, the slight rises and falls, the subtle wrinkles, the impossible suppleness.

In all honesty, he didn't know what he was doing. His lips just crashed over hers again and again, terribly frenzied but somehow still exquisitely sweet.

They didn't know when they started grasping each other's cheeks, when their hands had treacherously reached for each other's faces in the midst of their fervor, nor could they distinguish when lips gave way to mouths, and their tongues flicked out mischievously from behind their teeth, intertwining and interlacing in an inextricable dance.

Sakura was ensnared, trapped in a world where all logical and coherent thought could not hope to dwell, a world where all she could feel, all she could comprehend, were Sai's searing lips, was the indescribable power of his burning tongue swelling and surging against hers.

She had no cognizant awareness that soft, guttural moans were pouring forth from the carnal depths of her throat, that her litany of pleasured whimpers weaved an intricate harmony of soaring pitches which synthesized perfectly with the lower undertones of Sai's deep groans.

And it was warm, so warm, _too_ warm, warm beyond comfort, her body retaliating, screaming for her to cool down, to do whatever she could to escape the overwhelming heat. The vest and skirt Sai had drawn for her were so suffocating, were so oppressive, and she attempted in vain to rip the offending material away, to free her flushed, gasping body of its terrible constraints.

Then she felt hot fingers at her chest fumbling clumsily with the ink-drawn zipper, fingers that wanted to rescue her, to liberate her of the binding fabric. And she brimmed with gratitude, her body returning the favor ardently, and she was vaguely conscious that her hands were on his chest as well, that they were struggling to rid him of the black jacket which kept her deprived fingers from grasping the firm pectorals trapped beneath.

Sakura was naked all too soon, her flushed skin finally free of the overwhelming heat, and as the cold encased her sweat-slicked body, she realized with a start that Sai was naked as well, that she lay on top of him, her rosy skin a sharp contrast to the pale white below her.

Suddenly, everything was crystal clear, Sakura's senses struck with a blinding clarity, and every instance of her striking situation was brought under dazzling light.

She was spread-eagled across Sai, her tongue exploring the inside of his mouth as he moaned and the delicious vibrations shook her entire body. Her breasts were pressed against his heaving muscular chest, somehow already perfidiously forgetting all the painful trauma of scarring recent contact, and her thighs were opened wide, sandwiching his bony hips, her wet crotch gleaning moisture across his burning skin.

And her stomach, her toned abdomen, was squeezed against something unbearably hot, impossibly hard, an object the entirety of her lust-consumed mind zeroed in on in an instant.

An unquenchable curiosity wracked her, and she pulled away from his succulent lips, arms straightening to hold her bared body up as her gaze traveled past his puzzled face, his strained neck, down his prominent pectorals, past his pronounced six-pack, to the rigid, elongated organ jutting from the base of his crotch.

Sakura blushed, her cheeks reddening, but the temptation was too strong, her curiousness too powerful to resist. Her romance novels often described the traits of this particular body part in detail, the rigid hardness, the way a girl could render a guy helpless and unintelligible with the slightest brush against its burning length.

_Any_ girl with at least the fraction of a brain had the right to doubt the validity of that claim.

An object that, upon the slightest touch, would reduce all men to monosyllabic Neanderthals begging for more?

How could that be?

Sakura had always wondered how that was possible, especially when guys always claimed they were the dominant sexual beasts, but the occasion had never arisen when asking such an embarrassing question felt appropriate.

Sakura took a deep breath.

If it wasn't appropriate to ask now, it would never be appropriate.

"Sai?" she asked tentatively.

He gazed into her emerald eyes, lust obscuring his usually-sharp stare.

"Mm?"

The pink-haired kunoichi faltered for a moment, gathering her confidence.

"Is it true that…" she began timidly, trailing off as her words clamped in her mouth.

"True that what?" he implored, tone husky with desire.

"…that…"

_Just say it!_ she screamed to herself.

"…that guys go crazy when their…"

Shit, this was so embarrassing.

"…when their…um…"

How was she supposed to refer to it?

"…when their…_things_…are touched?"

Even with arousal clouding his comprehension, Sai chuckled softly.

"Why don't you find out for yourself?" he suggested innocently.

Sakura cringed.

Did he just extend an invitation to touch his…his…wow she couldn't even say it to herself, his _penis_? She looked back down to the throbbing erection between her legs.

Curiosity may not have killed the cat, but it definitely enticed it to do some rather remarkable things.

She shifted back slightly and sat down on his knees, her eyes fixed on his jutting member like a child regarding a questionable flavor of her favorite candy.

Slowly, cautiously, she extended a wary hand, fingers opened slightly, approaching the long object with such apprehension one would've thought she was reaching out to poke a sleeping lion.

Sai observed her hesitant antics with amusement.

"It's not going to bite you, you know" he informed her, visibly entertained.

Sakura scowled.

Fine. If he wanted her to hurry up, she would.

With newfound conviction, she leaned forward and grasped the organ, her slender fingers wrapping around the searing, impossibly hard length and squeezing in one swift motion.

Sai's surprised cry hitched in his throat as his hips bucked violently upwards.

Whoa. Amazing.

It appeared like the stories were true.

Her naughty mind was already whirring on hyper drive, conjuring images of what he would do, the sounds he would make, if she were to take him into her mouth, if she were to take him into her body…

Well, if he responded that ferociously from the mere touch of her hands, who could blame her for imagining the magnitude of his reaction if she were to suck on that burning member, if she were to impale herself on his immeasurably stiff arousal?

She was so wet she was _dripping_.

"Sakura…" pleaded the pale jounin, "Sakura please…"

Her hand still gripped his cock firmly, the blistering heat and delicious pressure from her flexed fingers driving him nearly insane with desire. If she were to move that hand now, he didn't know _what_ he would do-

The soft fingers gripped him even more tightly, squeezing as they jerked down his needy shaft.

The moan that exploded from his mouth was throaty and saturated impossibly with arousal. He bucked up like he had been struck by lightening, and with the sudden jolt upward came an unintentional second pump as Sakura struggled to maintain her hold on his crazed erection.

Sai could not take it anymore. The scalding heat, the incredible pressure amounted to an electroshock pleasure which bolted with unbelievable speed from his cock to every organ, every tissue of his body.

He needed to be in her. Right now.

Rearing up, he grasped her shoulders and tumbled over, rolling so that he loomed above her, his eyes taking in every detail of her nudity.

Her breasts heaved mightily with the force of her desire, the thatch of pink curls ringing her sex drenched thoroughly with her juices.

But it was her eyes, her licentious, lustful eyes, the ones which shone with a need so ostensible, so unequivocally wanting, that drove Sai into an unrestrained, hopelessly uncontained frenzy.

And thank god she wanted him, for at that point he didn't know if he could stop even if she screamed for him not to. She had driven him too far over the edge, and at this point he could not physically settle for anything less than fucking her brains out.

He didn't bother to ease into her, couldn't possibly have eased into her even if he attempted to, so he just thrust the blunt end of his cock through, penetrating the most sacred area of her body, and groaned senselessly as the impossible tightness compressed his member and he drove into her again and again.

Sakura was in a mixed world of ecstatic euphoria and stabbing pain.

She had no idea she was moaning, that a litany of husky cries were flowing incessantly out of her panting mouth.

All she knew was Sai's cock, the scorching, stiff rod thrusting harshly into her with frightening animalistic abandon, the flaming spear piercing the barrier of her sanity, savagely ripping control from her body, forcing her into the bestial world of carnal, intrinsic desire.

Sakura did not know she was screaming his name.

All she knew was the white heat blazing through her body, covering her vision, her clamped eyes, with blinding light, burning her body mercilessly with a pleasure so impossibly intense, so powerfully incredible, that she was sure her soul was being torn from its bodily container.

And then she came, came with an orgasm no girl had ever come with, her body wracked with a burning series of spasms so violent she jerked up and down despite Sai's weight pressed forcefully against her jolting hips, her liquids milking his length as her vagina contracted vigorously on the hot length again and again.

"Sak-u-ra!"

Sai yelled hoarsely, his guttural shout echoing through the room as he crashed his hips against her one last time and snapped rigid, every muscle in his body flexed to their maximum as he groaned helplessly and came, his entire frame shuddering with the potent force of his orgasm.

She could feel his hot semen exploding into the depths of her body, could feel the milky liquid blast against the deep walls of her insides.

And then he fell on top of her, drained of all energy, his gasps for air resounding in her ears, matching the breathless pants escaping from her own mouth.

"Wo-ow…" she managed to whisper.

They lay there for a while, joined, connected, as the relentless tremors wracking their bodies gradually ebbed away.

Then, with a reluctant sigh, Sai pulled out of her, rolling onto his back to stare up at the white ceiling of his room.

Sakura stared at him silently, her eyes traveling slowly up his chest to his serene face.

She loved him. That was unquestionable.

He had painted an indelible mark in her heart that stated "Sakura loves me and me only, for all of eternity".

And she was happy that he did.

With a contented smile, she snuggled closer to him and gave him a small peck on the cheek.

The pale jounin turned, staring into her brilliant green eyes.

"I have a question" he announced.

"Hm?"

Sai was quiet, as if reconsidering whether he should ask her or not. Then, in apparent decisiveness, he opened his mouth.

"Will you be my girlfriend?" he wondered softly.

Sakura's heart soared.

_Yes yes yes!_

"Hmm…"

_Yes yes yes!_

"Hmmm…"

She waited, biding her time, wanting him to fidget nervously in hopeful anxiety as she considered her answer with feigned indecision.

_Yes yes yes!_

Then, unable to contain her own eager excitement, she wrapped her arms around his chest and hugged him tightly.

"Of course I will" she told him happily.

_fin_

* * *

YAY! FINALLY done. And just in time too, since school starts tommorow.

and I still have loads of AP homework to finish...

so make me happy, raise my self-esteem, and please, REVIEW THE FINAL CHAPTER OF MY FIRST FANFIC, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE.

thank you.

p.s. Christine, I hope you detected the reminiscent twinges. Teehee. :P


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